Georgia Governor Brian Kemp isn’t the most popular person with conservatives. He circled the wagons during the last election to make sure the establishment got its way and that recounts went the way they were supposed to go for the left.
However, now Kemp is trying to save his political future during this year’s midterms by boosting up the Peach State’s gun laws. Specifically, he’s working to get full constitutional carry legalized in the state of Georgia.
Will Gun Rights Push Save Kemp?
Kemp has said he’ll be coordinating with state legislators to make Georgia fully compliant with constitutional carry. Delivering remarks on the legislation, Kemp said he agrees citizens do not need any permission from the government to “carry a firearm” and he will be proceeding accordingly to make that a reality.
Constitutional carry is a fairly simple concept that puts laws back in line with what our Founding Fathers envisioned. It means you can have a handgun with you. You can either carry it openly or holster and hide it. The choice is yours.
As we know, you don’t need a special permit to exercise your First Amendment rights, so why should you need a special permit to exercise your gun rights? More and more states agree with this logic.
Constitutional carry is now recognized as the law of the land in Oklahoma, Vermont, Alaska, South Dakota, Arizona, Idaho, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
Constitutional carry is also on the move in Florida and Ohio.
New: Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday he supports the GOP-led legislature passing a so-called "constitutional carry" bill this legislative session that would likely allow eligible Georgians to open or concealed carry a handgun without a permit. #gapolhttps://t.co/fqzOp5yjWk
— stephen fowler (@stphnfwlr) January 5, 2022
Can Kemp Redeem Himself?
While some conservatives are happy with Kemp because of this step he’s taking, others aren’t ready to give him credit just yet.
He swam around pretty deeply in the swamp and clearly is willing to work with Republicans in Name Only (RINOs) as much as necessary to get approval from the establishment.
That doesn’t tend to foster trust. Others feel that constitutional carry is only a formality anyway, and technically is already supported by 2A, which would make Kemp’s announcement just a way to score cheap points.
What’s definitely clear is Kemp did a lot of damage to his political career by stabbing Trump supporters in the back previously. His efforts to claw his way back could definitely be too little too late at this point.
My Concealed Carry Permit renewal arrived today. Thank you so much @BrianKempGA for extending the renewal period under your Covid Executive Orders, you saved me $50 Which thanks to #LetsGoBrandon I can really use.
— Linda Steding (@ReaLindaSteding) December 18, 2021
The Bottom Line
Governor Brian Kemp is in danger of losing his seat.
He now claims he was always pro-Trump and said nothing “bad” about him. It remains to be seen if Vernon Jones and David Perdue can unseat Kemp this year.
However, his push for greater gun rights is obviously an attempt to shore up his chances and protect against the anger from voters.
