Exclusive! Roy Barnes on abortion, guns, and spending

Over a month ago on September 23, as I was preparing candidate profiles for the gubernatorial candidates, I submitted several questions to the Roy Barnes campaign along with a request for the rights to use a photo of Mr. Barnes to accompany the article. Although I called and emailed the campaign several times, there was no response so I finally published the article.

Finally, I received response from the Barnes campaign. In order to fully educate the electorate, I will pass along what new information I received. Additionally, I have also received permission to use the photo that accompanies this article. You can read the full candidate profile of Barnes here.

First, I since Barnes’ website did not address abortion and life issues, I asked for his platform on these issues. The answer is that Barnes believes that abortion should be “safe, legal -- and most importantly rare.” He believes that access to family planning clinics for women and responsible sex education for students will move Georgia in that direction.

Second, I asked whether Barnes favored gun control. Again, his website did not address the issue. The reply was that Barnes “is not for excessive gun control.” He notes that he has been endorsed by the NRA in every election. Although to be totally accurate, the NRA declined to endorse a Georgia gubernatorial candidate this year because both candidates, Barnes as well as Deal, have “A” ratings.

Finally, I asked how Barnes intended to pay for his spending programs on infrastructure that he believes will help to restart Georgia’s economy. The reply was that Barnes intends to repeal “tax exemptions that apply only to special interest [sic] and not all Georgians.” There was no specification on which tax exemptions these might include.

Additionally, I would like to point out that the Barnes campaign did apologize for not responding sooner. I would like to thank them for taking the time out of what I am sure is a busy campaign to respond.