The mass murders in Dallas and Orlando are, in a sad and odd way, good for wilderness in Georgia.

Fear, and politicians calls for stricter gun control laws, fuel gun sales. A little-known federal program slaps an excise tax on the sale of guns and ammunition, with the bulk of that money returned to states to boost wildlife conservation and land acquisition programs.

And, with gun sales soaring, Georgia is receiving record amounts of conservation money from Washington. The program sent more than $15 million Georgia's way last year — nearly three times the amount just five years earlier.

“Barack Obama is the greatest gun salesman that ever lived,” quipped O’Neill Williams, a hunting and fishing enthusiast from Atlanta with a show on AM 750 WSB.

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Former President Donald Trump (center) was indicted on Aug. 14, 2023, by a Fulton County grand jury on multiple felony charges. Also indicted were (top row, from left) Mike Roman, Rudy Giuliani, David Shafer, Missy Hampton, Kenneth Chesebro; (second row, from left) John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Trevian Kutti, Mark Meadows; (third row, from left) Harrison Floyd, Sidney Powell, Jeffrey Clark, Cathy Latham; (fourth row, from left) Ray Smith III, Bob Cheeley, Shawn Still, Scott Hall and Stephen Cliffgard Lee.

Credit: George Mathis

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Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport domestic terminal on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, the first day of the Federal Aviation Administration cutting flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

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