Atlanta (AP) —Republicans across the country are preparing to attack Democrats Tough on crime platform Georgia this fall Democratic Stacey Abrams Making guns the central focus of her race for governor, trying to turn crime into the responsibility of incumbent Republican governor Brian Kemp Re-election bid..
Abrams made strengthening Georgia’s gun law a major part of her public security plan announced Thursday, overturning several laws enacted by Georgia Republicans since 2014, who and where to carry guns. Proposed to relax restrictions on what can be done.
Democrats are also trying to take advantage of the division of how the government fights crime, and Kemp and Republicans return to the failed Rock M-Up approach, abandoning the former bipartisan push and more punishment. Claims to focus on a traditional approach.
Republican Justice Secretary Chris Karr, one of Kemp’s closest allies, said the Republican Party’s abandonment of reform efforts was “absolutely wrong,” and the GOP passed the mental health bill this year. He said he would like to support the diversion of violent criminals and do more about drug addiction.
But he refuses the Democratic Kemp strategy to crack down on gangsters, provide bonuses to police officers, and create special state units focused on urban crime and street racing. Said it was wrong.
Democrats are “basically more interested in protecting violent criminals than vulnerable communities,” Kerr said.
Tightening gun control is a sympathetic issue for Democratic voters, including white women in the suburbs and others when the country is still shocked by mass shootings at supermarkets in northern New York and schools in Texas. It can shake swing voters. These and other shootings add new urgency to the seemingly stalemate nationwide debate over guns, and some Congressional Republicans have shown at least a small willingness to compromise.
Democrats are betting that voters are “at the limit,” as Republican Democrat Shea Roberts said over the decision to increase access to guns.
In 2014, Georgia Parliamentarians stipulated that people could carry guns to additional locations, including bars, churches, and even airport security checkpoints. In 2017, they added the university campus to the list. And this year, Kemp promoted a law that abolishes the requirement that people have permission to carry hidden weapons in public. This fulfilled the pledge that Kemp made when he ran for governor in 2018 with provocative ads, such as an ad aimed at an actor who was acting as a suitor to one of Kemp’s daughters.
Roberts was motivated to run after leaving Republican lawmakers in the wealthy Atlanta district in 2020 and explaining active shooter training at school two weeks before the 2018 school massacre in Parkland, Florida. Said there was.
“Since then, things have gotten worse,” Roberts said.
Abrams has a universal background check on the sale of personal guns, allowing them to be stolen from those who endanger themselves or others, and those who remove the gun under a protection order will have another gun. I want the Locomotive Acts to prevent buying.
Even many Republican-minded voters feel overkill to legalize Kemp and Republican MPs to carry hidden guns without permission, according to Georgia University political scientist Charles Brock. Was there.
“It wasn’t a very popular idea, even among Republican voters,” Brock said. “Perhaps the legislature listened only to the most hardcore Republicans, not the place where the average Republican was working on some of these issues.”
But even if Abrams wins, he could face a Republican majority who resists the proposal in Georgia Capitol. These majority are supported by a group of voices who oppose compromise.
“People who really believe in their rights will believe in their rights regardless,” said Jerry Henry, Executive Director of the Georgia Gun Rights Group GA2A.
Henry said he suspected that Republicans would be willing to tighten Georgia law. Such a proposal is only feasible if Abrams “pulls a large number of Democrats into the General Assembly with her.” “And I don’t even know if all Democrats will go with her,” Henry said.
According to Kerr, Abrams and his opponent, Democrat Jen Jordan, misunderstand how Georgians feel about guns and protect themselves from crime.
“They haven’t been informed where the Georgians are. It’s a basic human need to be safe and secure,” Kerr said.
Abrams wants to restructure the Criminal Justice Reform Council, which created multiple reforms when Republican Nathan Deal was governor. Sara Totonchi, policy director for the Abrams campaign, said Abrams would instruct the group to “find out violent crimes, why they happen, and what they can do to deal with them at the source.” Stated.
Abrams proposes to intervene in schools and families to prevent violence and expand vocational training and opportunities. She wants to turn some low-level traffic and drug crimes into civil crimes. And she wants a “clean slate” method that automatically clears the criminal record if someone doesn’t re-offend within a certain period of time.
Republican National Committee spokesperson Garrison Douglas accused Abrams of being a “felony”, saying it was further evidence of Abrams’ vulnerabilities to crime. The Foundation said it was in favor of the group reimbursing or abolishing police funds.
Kemp is under democratic attack for receiving $ 50,000 in election funding from Georgia-based company Daniel Defense, which launched a rifle-based school attack in Yuvalde, Texas.
Abrams’ criminal program is the third in a series of offensive moves aimed at changing the table on the issues Kemp advocated. After Kemp extended the temporary petrol tax holiday to July, Abrams asked Kemp to extend it for the rest of the year. Kemp signed and offered a $ 5,000 salary increase to teachers. Abrams responded by demanding an additional average $ 11,000 salary increase for teachers.
According to Brock, the question is whether Republicans are likely to focus on the economy, whether guns and other social issues motivate voters, Kemp acknowledges the achievements of economic development projects, and GOP inflation. Defeat the Democratic Party over.
“This time, we’re definitely on a more difficult mission than it was four years ago,” Brock said, as Kemp is currently in the position of a rematch in the election with Abrams. “So she has to try to neutralize with problems that may overcome the economic message that the governor is trying to push forward.”
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.
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