Brian Kemp: A mixed legacy due to gun stance

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. ”- Second Amendment, exact wording  

Our Governor likes to brag about how well our state is doing economically. And he has done some questionable things to promote that growth, like vetoing bipartisan legislation to tax Data Centers, which many people consider to be a plague.

But he never mentions physical or mental health issues, which are significant problems in our state compared to the nation as a whole. He believes that by ignoring them, he will not be criticized for his failings. And to some extent he is right…politically but not morally.

You might remember how Kemp first pitched himself to the Georgia electorate. He ran ads with him pointing a long gun in the general direction of a teenage boy. That endeared him to the NRA types who are a strong political force, especially in rural areas. It was an indication as to where he was headed in his terms as Governor.

Under Kemp, we have loosened already weak gun control laws, indirectly leading to more shootings. Specifically, in 2022 he promoted and signed legislation which eliminated Georgia’s background checks for concealed loaded handguns. It was already legal for residents to carry in their cars, homes and places of employment. By the way, residents are still prohibited from bring guns into our state capitol buildings …where Kemp and the other people who voted for gun rights work.

Kemp has misinterpreted the 2^nd Amendment for political purposes, wooing the NRA types. In Kemp’s words, gun control measures should be weakened, because “In the face of rising violent crime across the country, law-abiding citizens should have their constitutional rights protected, not undermined.”

However, his words are contrary to the facts. Per one source- “If Georgia had the gun death rate of our National Leaders—the 10 states with the strongest gun safety laws—we could save 14,560 lives in the next decade .” (https://everytownresearch.org/rankings/state/georgia/ ). You would think that we would be trying to lower that unacceptable gun death rate… but Kemp has gone in the opposite direction, per the above

To be closer to our family, my Georgia peach wife and I moved back to Georgia from California. Numerous Georgia born folks have told me that California is a “dangerous place to live with undocumented immigrants committing violent crimes”. But the facts tell a different story. The rate of deaths by guns in Georgia is 2.5 times higher here than California.

We need to start basing our gun control decisions on the facts versus political expediency and emotions. If we want to see fewer Georgians, including our children, shot to death we must have reasonable gun control measures enacted by our General Assembly and the next Governor. These measures include-

 -Stopping the mentally ill from owning guns.

-Stopping those on “watch lists” from owning guns 

-Halting unregulated gun show sales 

-Instituting an assault rifle ban 

-Halting sales of high-capacity magazines 

-Passing legislation to make parents directly responsible for their children misusing guns supplied to them or owned by their parents

We live in a time when some politicians believe that if they repeat falsehoods on a constant basis, these lies will be believed by the base in their party. For example, the lie that the January 6 ^th insurrectionists were just “peaceful tourists”.

Voters must take the time to discover the facts before they vote. And the media must be upfront about the truth, exposing the lies. So far, our national, state and local media sources have fallen short regarding firearms. This publication is the exception to the rule.

Note: This is an opinion article as designated by the the category placement on this website. It is not news coverage. If this disclaimer is funny to you, it isn’t aimed at you — but some of your friends and neighbors honestly have trouble telling the difference.