The Star News Network National Political Editor, Neil W. McCabe talked with Armed in America host Mark Walters about how far gun rights have come in the state of Georgia.
TRANSCRIPT:
McCabe: Georgia is about to become the next state with a constitutional carry law, which means Georgians no longer have to apply for gun permits.
Mark Walters, the host of the Atlanta-based Armed American Radio, told The Star News Network how far the state has come from when he first moved here in 2005.
Walters: I moved here in ’05 from Florida. At that time, Florida was affectionately known as the Gunshine State. And Georgia was light years behind the state of Florida as far as gun rights at that time.
Because of a fledgling group, Georgiacarry.org. Now Ga2a.org, we are now light years ahead of Florida because of the legislation we’ve been able to move. So the gun rights situation in Georgia has completely shifted 180 degrees for the better.
McCabe: Walters said pressure from GA2A and a Republican primary challenge from David Perdue pushed Governor Brian Kemp to push for gun rights.
Walters: As of right now, Brian Kemp is ready and poised to do what he promised to do when he ran his pro-gun campaign, and that is to sign constitutional carry get that bill on his desk. Where do the politics come in on this?
Well, I think a little bit of a push from a primary opponent who I guess brought it up before he did and kind of forced that hand has led to where we are today. So, yes, politics has a lot to do with it, as it always does.
McCabe: Walters said he wants Armed American Radio to be a platform for advancing gun rights in Georgia and across the country.
Walters: When I first started the program, I looked back, and as I mapped it out, I thought, what can I do differently than other radio programs to make this a success?
And I thought, I don’t hear any other voice out there speaking specifically to me and my dinnertime conversations in the politics of guns and the politics of gun control and actively going after the people who are coming after us.
McCabe: Walters started Armed American Radio in 2009 for one hour on one station. Now he is on more than 200 stations every Sunday night for three hours and does two hours every weekday. Reporting for The Star News Network, this is Neil W. McCabe, Atlanta.
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Photo “Mark Walters” by The Star News Network.
