‘We can protect 2nd Amendment and 2nd graders,’ Abrams tells Augustans at rally

Saturday a small but enthusiastic crowd gave Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams several standing ovations. Abrams came to Augusta as part of her campaign for the Nov. 8, 2022 general election in which she will face Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Abrams addressed the crowd on issues of reproductive rights, Medicaid expansion and gun control.

‘I'm now a second class citizen in the state of Georgia’

Abrams drew a contrast to her opponent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp when she advocated for reproductive rights for people who can have children.

"I'm running for governor because as a woman, I'm now a second class citizen in the state of Georgia," she said. "I don't have the right to control my own body in the state of Georgia, I don't have the right to determine my future in the state of Georgia. It took a man to break Georgia's promise. It's gonna take a woman to put it right."

Democratic Rep. Gloria Frazier of Georgia's District 126 said the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which overturned the federal protection to a woman’s right to abortion motivated her. "One of the reasons I'm running and supporting her is Roe v. Wade; my right and my daughter's right... to control their bodies, whether they want to have an abortion. I cannot sit by and let a man determine and tell me what is best for my body."

Frazier is also up for re-election this November.

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Abrams has long advocated for expanding Medicaid, and repeated that message in Augusta, adding that Gov. Brian Kemp's failure to expand Medicaid is the reason for multiple Georgia hospitals being shut down. This resonated with Augusta Commissioner Jordan Johnson.

"There's no reasons why rural hospitals are closing at the rate that they're closing," Johnson said. "Right here at home, we have the Burke County hospital and hospitals across the rural area that have closed or that is not quality because of the governor's refusal to expand Medicaid."

Burke County Medical Center repeatedly has repeatedly run into financial difficulties as well as staffing and performance issues. The hospital is now under new management but remains underwritten by county dollars.

Kemp proposed a limited Medicaid expansion in 2019 that included a work requirement and would cover 50,000 Georgians who are without health care. It was blocked by the Biden Administration in 2021, and while that block was overruled in August, the "Georgia Pathways" plan is not active.

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Abrams' position on public safety

For Niki Gunter, communications leader for Moms Demand Action's Augusta chapter, this was her first time hearing Abrams speak, and said "When she spoke, it was really powerful to hear how she supports common sense laws on gun safety."

Augusta saw a sharp uptick in gun violence crimes over the past summer, and these plus tragedies like the school shooting in Uvalde, TX, have reignited the call for stricter gun laws by some.

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Abrams criticized Kemp loosening concealed carry laws, and argued for stricter legislation on open carry, increased background checks, and similar measures. But she clarified that she does not want to take away anyone's firearms.

Earlier this year, as Georgia’s legislative session came to a close, Kemp signed permitless concealed carry of a gun into law.

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"Now look, I'm from Mississippi," Abrams said. "My grandmother taught me how to shoot a gun. It was a shotgun. She taught me two things. Number one: you don't point it at anyone... but she also said that the person who holds that weapon is the person responsible... I know we can protect the Second Amendment and protect second graders at the exact same time."

According to EveryStat, a national gun violence database, Georgia ranked 9th in gun violence in 2021.

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"I'm running because I know that we can have safety and justice," she said. "It is a false choice that we can't support law enforcement and hold them accountable.”

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Stacey Abrams discusses healthcare, public safety and more in Augusta