We've seen campaign ads from candidates for governor this year filmed in swimming pools, obstacle courses and outside double-wide trailers. But Republican Hunter Hill gave us a first in this cycle.
A digital ad he debuted this week features him at a shooting range, locking and loading a rifle before slicing a bullet through a far-off target.
The former state senator is trying to shore up his pro-gun credentials in a tight GOP race for a spot in a likely runoff against Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. And in the video, he says he “won’t give an inch on your God-given right to protect yourself and your family.”
This is a sensitive issue for Hill, a former U.S. Army Airborne Ranger.
He gave an answer in a Feb. 23 forum hosted by the State Bar of Georgia in which he suggested he would support raising the minimum age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21.
He was responding to a question about whether Georgia would follow Florida's example in tightening gun laws after the massacre at a Parkland high school. And his answer was featured in a video by Georgia Gun Owners, a Second Amendment outfit.
“Of course, if we’re going to have gun laws, we’ve got to have parity,” he said. “So if it’s 21 on a hand gun, it makes sense to make it 21 on the automatic weapons - the semiautomatic weapons.”
Hill’s campaign said he “misspoke” and would like to see federal and state law set a minimum age of 18 to buy firearms across the board.
But that hasn’t stopped his rivals from taking shots. State Sen. Michael Williams of Cumming called him a “fake conservative” trying to dupe the Republican electorate.
“This is what Hunter says he supports today, imagine what he's not telling us,” Williams sent in a note to his backers.
The head of Georgia Gun Owners, meanwhile, said Hill quickly moved to squelch his concerns. Patrick Parsons said the candidate recently called him and “lavished praise” on the group in a 15-minute conversation shortly before his campaign said he supported the minimum age of 18 to buy firearms.
"We caught him red handed on video supporting gun control, he quickly changed his tune after pressure from GGO members and supporters, returned his GGO Candidate Survey, then put out what appears to be a nice ad,” Parsons said.
Other recent AJC coverage of the Georgia governor’s race:
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