Georgia is solidly supportive of the Second Amendment, a fact that undoubtedly influenced the decision of gun manufacturer Rideout Arsenal to move from Virginia this summer to the Peach State in the wake of Virginia’s passage of “anti-gun legislation,” and almost certainly led the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) to include it in its two month, 13 state tour of the U.S. that it’s calling the 2026 NRA Gun Bus Battleground Tour.
Georgia will play host to three of the 63 planned stops, with Smyrna, Savannah, and Athens all set to welcome the Gun Bus in October, the latter as part of the tailgate festivities before the much-anticipated and likely heavily attended UGA v. Auburn college football matchup.
In a statement announcing the tour, John Commerford, NRA-ILA executive director, said the tour is an attempt to have real conversations about the protected constitutional right to bear arms rather than simply creating a slick ad campaign that can be more annoying than educational to constituencies bombarded with campaign season ad buys.
“Gun owners don’t need another polished ad interrupting their favorite show. They need real conversations about what’s at stake for the Second Amendment,” Commerford said. “The Gun Bus Tour puts NRA staff and volunteers on the ground where it matters most-talking directly with the men and women who form the backbone of this organization. This is how we build lasting political power: one conversation, one neighborhood, one vote at a time.”
Commerford told JAMES that Georgia’s Senate race is particularly interesting to the organization in light of recent 2A court wins and a forthcoming Supreme Court case related to hardware of commonly owned, semi-automatic firearms.
“How are those wins possible?” Commerford asked. “Because of President Trump nominating qualified constitutionalists to the bench, whether that’s at the district level, the appellate level, or to the Supreme Court; and a pro-gun U.S. Senate confirming those judges and justices. This is why it’s so important to elect a senator in Georgia that represents the constituency of the state like Mike Collins compared to [incumbent] Jon Ossoff.”
Ossoff’s competitor for that Senate seat, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, currently serving as congressman in Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, was recently given an “A” ranking by the NRA-ILA.
GOP candidate for governor, Rick Jackson, — who does not shy away from making campaign stops at gun stores — was also given an “A” ranking based on his answers to a candidate questionnaire administered by the NRA-ILA.
Both Democrat candidates in those races – Ossoff and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms who is running for governor – were given rankings of “F.”
While Georgia voters historically have been broadly supportive of the Second Amendment, there has been debate of late about “responsible” gun ownership, notably from Bottoms. Democrats in Georgia equate responsible gun ownership with better mental health screening and red flag laws; Republicans have recently been debating tax breaks as an incentive for individual gun owners engaging in voluntary safety measures. Georgia’s legislature is set to debate and vote on bills related to these issues in its 2027 session.
Notably, the NRA will be holding its national convention in Atlanta in April 2027, and voters will have plenty of time to learn more about those upcoming debates by the time NRA’s national event rolls into town.
For now, however, voters can visit one of three cities in Georgia pre-midterms when the Gun Bus rolls into those towns and learn immediately about Second Amendment issues and proposed legislation, both within the state of Georgia and at the federal level, to give them better information as they head to the polls in November.
