Gun rights vs. gun control a major factor for many Georgia voters

[livingston]

Gun rights vs. gun control a major factor for many Georgia voters
The gun control advocates gathered at Murphey Candler Park on one of the first cool Saturday mornings of the fall, armed with canvassing tools on their smartphones and frustration over Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 100 or so volunteers ventured deep into suburban Brookhaven to “channel that frustration into action,” as volunteer Beth Freeman put it, hoping to use a battle over gun rights to rally voters in one of the state’s most competitive areas.



Republicans are mounting a counteroffensive, warning that Democratic victories would pose the sharpest threat in decades to expansions in gun rights. The National Rifle Association recently snapped up $500,000 in TV airtime to drive their case home.

There’s a reason the territory has fast become a battleground on firearms. Top politicians from both parties have generally embraced a friendly attitude toward gun rights proponents, and the firearms lobby enjoyed immense power under the Gold Dome.

But gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams and other leading Democrats have broken from decades of conventional party strategy in Georgia in this year’s midterms by calling for new firearms restrictions.

Abrams and others say voters shell-shocked from a spate of mass shootings are now more supportive of her calls for universal background checks for private sales of firearms, a ban of high-powered assault rifles and a repeal of campus gun legislation.
Gun rights vs. gun control a major factor for many Georgia voters

 

[livingston]

The number of free states seem to be getting smaller folks ...

 

[livingston]

For minority gun owners, Georgia governor’s race is not an easy choice
Near the outskirts of Atlanta, Robert Patillo slips a round into a rifle, points his barrel toward the sky, and stares off into the distance. His hands steadied and feet planted, he yells out to the skeet range operator. Pull! An orange clay pigeon flies overhead. He squeezes the trigger. Boom! The orange pieces spiral to the ground.

The Harris County native can’t remember a time in his life without guns. He got his first rifle at age 6 and often hunted deer with his father and friends. Guns were always around, normal as college football, normal as a Bible on a nightstand. The black criminal defense lawyer, who owns an AR-15, still cares about gun rights. But as someone planning to vote in Georgia’s gubernatorial election, he also cares about voting rights, criminal justice and economic development — a wide swath of issues affecting minorities statewide.



“I’m undecided at this point,” Patillo said.

In the homestretch of a historic campaign to become the nation’s first black female governor, Atlanta Democrat Stacey Abrams believes her pathway to victory against Athens Republican Brian Kemp is predicated on turning out thousands of minority Georgians to vote. Unlike past statewide Democratic campaigns, which have focused on courting centrist voters, the former House minority leader has banked on persuading infrequent voters — especially voters of color — to cast ballots on Nov. 6. And she’ll likely need heavy support from African-Americans who supported Democratic candidate Jason Carter in his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign four years ago.

But for some black gun owners Abrams has complicated their choice at the ballot box. The Democrat, the daughter of a gun owner, has strongly supported gun control measures, including an assault weapons ban and universal background checks. While gun sales fell after Donald Trump was elected president, firearms dealers have anecdotally described an increase in minority customers. And Georgia minority gun owners — increasingly wooed by groups such as the National Rifle Association, known for its alignment with white conservative politicians — have launched black-centered groups such as the Atlanta-based National African American Gun Association, which now has more than 28,000 members in states from Florida to Washington.

For minority gun owners, Georgia governor’s race is not an easy choice

 

[1911guy]

That story sounded like the fellow shot skeet with rifle bullets. Ignorance abounds about firearms in the press