Kemp talks upcoming election, constitutional carry bill at Sylvester campaign stop

SYLVESTER, Ga. (WALB) - Gov. Brian Kemp is making his way around South Georgia to talk about what he believes are several key issues in his re-election campaign.

Many people gathered together at the Southern Woods Plantation in Sylvester to hear him speak.

Kemp said the number of Republicans on the ballot in the governor’s race this general primary doesn’t bother him.

“I feel great. You know we’re working hard, not taking anything for granted. You can see we’re drawing great crowds. A lot of enthusiasm going into the primary,” Kemp said. “But look, my ultimate goal is to make sure that we keep Stacey Abrams from being governor of Georgia.”

Kemp said he believes he accomplished everything he set out to do during his current tenure in the governor’s seat and that Georgia is on the right path.

“Whether it’s our economy, you know our educational promises, whether it’s teacher pay raises. You know what we’ve done for rural healthcare. Rural innovation. Rural broadband. Our ports,” he said.

He also discussed several other topics such as his plans for inflation, U.S. border patrol, voting laws, COVID-19, and the handling of job positions such as law enforcement, teachers, and healthcare workers. He attributes this success to one thing.

“It’s been an honor to serve. We’re doing great, but it’s all because we were resilient. We stayed open and we protected lives and livelihoods,” Kemp said.

Kemp said losing former President Donald Trump’s endorsement has not affected how he plans to go about this campaign.

Catherine Davis, David Perdue, Kandiss Taylor and Tom Williams are running against Kemp on the Republican ticket for the May primary. Stacey Abrams is the lone Democrat on the ballot for the governor’s race.

While at his stop in Sylvester, Kemp also talked about signing the constitutional carry bill into law.

Kemp said it’s a critical issue. He also said he doesn’t believe it will cause crime to go up.

“Well, it’s hard to imagine more crime that what we have around our country right now. This is a public safety issue. This is why people want constitutional carry. You know, everybody that’s got the guns are criminals and bad people. What we need to do is give law-abiding citizens the ability to carry a handgun without a piece of paper from the government. Which they have in the United States constitution with the second amendment. Which is all we have done,” Kemp said.

Kemp said he believes this new law will not drastically change things and instead, help people across the Peach State.

“Background checks still apply just like any time your purchase a firearm. There’s been 20 plus other states that have done this. We’re just simply bringing priority to our citizens in the state of Georgia. Now look, people don’t have to carry if they don’t want to. It just gives them the ability to protect and defend themselves and their property,” Kemp said.

The governor also said he doesn’t think the new law will cause racial profiling by law enforcement.

“I think just the contrary. I think it’s actually gonna help minorities. I mean, I have a lot of minorities that have reached out to me and saying, ‘Thank you for doing this. You know, we’re scared to death in our communities just like other people are and we want to be able to protect and defend ourselves when we’re outside of our homes,’” Kemp said.

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