ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Gun control and the Second Amendment are key issues that drive voters to the polls in any election and already, ahead of the November race for president, both Democrats and Republicans are leaning into the issue.
Former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was the keynote speaker at this week’s annual conference of the National Rifle Association, where he painted this upcoming election as a potential threat to gun owners, and urged them to show out in large numbers.
“If gun owners voted, we would swamp them at levels that nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump told a large crowd in Dallas. “So I think you’re a rebellious bunch, but let’s be rebellious and vote this time, okay?”
On Friday, Georgia Democrats and community leaders expressed their own concern about what another term of Trump in office would mean for Georgia’s already high levels of gun violence.
“[Trump] promised to block bipartisan common sense gun safety measures, he opposed a federal ban on assault weapons, he rolled back efforts like background checks that would keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people,” said Representative Billy Mitchell, D – Stone Mountain. “That is why we must reject Donald Trump and MAGA Republican on Election Day.”
A study conducted by gun safety group Everytown showed an average of 1,868 Georgians die each year from guns, ranking Georgia as the U.S. state with the 46th weakest gun laws in the nation.
Republicans are also mobilizing voters over concerns that another four years of a Biden administration would see firearms restrictions put in place, and they now have a powerful ally at the NRA.
During the NRA conference, members elected former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr as the organization’s new president, after scandal-ridden former leader Wayne LaPierre stepped down.
“We need to grow our ranks, especially in this election year, and I pledge to focus my attention on doing just that,” Barr said in a statement after his election.
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