Cagle defends gun rights record
Casey Cagle, candidate for Georgia governor, defended his record on gun rights during a campaign stop in Fort Oglethorpe on Friday afternoon, though a state Second Amendment advocate said Cagle’s stance isn’t strong enough.
“I want to be very, very clear,” Cagle said. “I am for constitutional carry. OK? And I believe we have constitutional carry as a state. You can carry your long rifle where you want to. Your firearm. Your pistol. You can have that in your home. You can have that in your business. You can have that in your car. All of those things are available. We have expanded our gun laws extensively. And that is my record.”
He added, however, that the constitutional carry movement brings up another issue: monitoring people with felony records, mental illnesses or undocumented immigration statuses. The law requiring gun owners to acquire licenses for concealed carry of their handguns helps keep these weapons away from certain groups.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re protecting society,” he said.
Joseph Hendricks, Cagle’s spokesman, later clarified that the candidate is open to eliminating the concealed carry license requirement “as long as we have a system to prohibit illegal aliens, convicted felons, and those that are mentally unstable from carrying guns in our communities.”
Asked if the state can be more proactive to keep guns from these groups, Cagle said, “I’m very pleased with where our laws are, honestly.”
Georgia Gun Owners, a Second Amendment organization, began spreading anti-Cagle memes on social media last week after his interview with Atlanta TV station WXIA. He told the station he wants to maintain the state’s requirement that residents get a license to conceal and carry a handgun.
Patrick Parsons, executive director of Georgia Gun Owners, said Cagle cannot support constitutional carry if he doesn’t want to eliminate the license requirement: That is the very crux of the movement.
“He is 100 percent confused on this issue,” Parsons said.
According to a February 2017 Washington Post article, 11 states allowed concealed carry without a license or permit last year.
State Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, said criticisms of Cagle’s gun rights record are an example of desperate attacks by other Republican candidates. He pointed out that the National Rifle Association endorsed Cagle last month. He also pointed out that Cagle has a strong lead in the race.
Out of six Republican candidates, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV poll released last week, 41 percent of likely primary voters support Cagle. This is a strong lead for the May 22 primary, though he would need more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a July runoff.
Mullis said Cagle’s opponents want to describe him as a moderate.
“When you’re down,” Mullis said, “you throw political hand grenades to throw the guy down the top. They have been misleading the public about his record because they are so far out of his reach in the race.”
Mullis and Cagle both said they have a close relationship. As lieutenant governor, Cagle appointed Mullis to chair the senate’s rules committee in 2013, giving him sway over what bills reached the chamber floor.
On Friday, Cagle also praised a partnership Walker County Schools announced last month with Georgia Northwestern Technical College, in which high school students will begin to attend the college in dual enrollment classes their junior year. Cagle has championed college and career academies throughout the state. Matt Harris, the school system’s director of innovation, met with Cagle to discuss the program.
Cagle believes Walker County’s plan is a good alternative to the college and career academy for counties without as much money.
“What they’re doing is great,” he said. “They’re really looking at education differently, which is what needs to occur.”
He also said he does not regret his feud with Delta Airlines, even as Amazon mulls where it should put its next headquarters. Cagle led an effort to block jet fuel tax breaks for Delta after the company stopped offering discounts to NRA members. He said of Delta: “They’re still family.”
“I’d love to see Amazon come here,” he added. “… Our values are not for sale either here in Georgia. I think we can have great economic prosperity, as we have, and embrace diversity of thought.”