Kemp Doubles Down on “Criminal Carry” as Call for Action on Gun Safety Grows

June 7, 2022

Even Kemp’s Lieutenant Governor Breaks Ranks on Gun Safety as Kemp Continues Defending “Criminal Carry”

As the call for action on gun safety grows, Brian Kemp is doubling down on defending his extreme, new “criminal carry” law which makes it easier for criminals to carry loaded, concealed guns in public without a permit or its background check. Kemp, whose own Lieutenant Governor broke ranks to call for action on gun safety, refuses to even consider calls for compromise on common sense legislation to address gun violence.

Instead, the governor is moving Georgia backwards on gun violence prevention by prioritizing extreme laws like “criminal carry”, which has led to increases in violent crime in states that passed similar legislation. The dangerous new law has also prompted concerns from law enforcement officers and mayors across the state, and is opposed by 70% of Georgians.
The governor’s decision to defend “criminal carry” comes as a new CBS poll shows parents and children are concerned about gun violence in schools, and a wide margin of voters on both sides of the aisle support action to improve gun safety.

WSB-TV: Lawmakers urge governor to call special session to address gun control

  • In just the last three weeks, the United States has had to deal with three mass shootings. Now, Democratic lawmakers in Georgia want the governor to call a special session to talk about new gun laws for our state.
  • The governor’s office had no direct comment on the call for a special session. The probability of one happening to consider gun laws is next to none. Democrats insist they just want to start the conversation.
  • Minutes after another Democratic lawmaker proposed new gun laws, state Rep. Billy Mitchell took the microphone. “I think we’re going to make news here. I can speak on behalf of the Democratic caucus in the House. We hereby call for a special session to deal with this issue,” Mitchell said.
  • The House and Senate Democrats asked Republican lawmakers to at least consider their proposals, which include an assault weapons ban, mandatory background checks on all gun sales, age restrictions for some gun purchases and mandatory firearm training.
  • But Mitchell also said they’re willing to listen to their Republican colleagues.
  • “So they obviously feel a lot differently about guns than some of us do. However, we can … come up with some compromises, some commonsense solutions to this issue,” Mitchell said.
  • The governor’s office had no direct comment on a special session and said many of those proposals would have to be handled on a federal, not state level.
  • Just two months ago, nearly a dozen Republican lawmakers joined Gov. Brian Kemp as he signed a law allowing Georgians to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

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