--- description: Brian Kemp, a Republican running for governor of Georgia, jokingly threatens a teen with a gun in a campaign ad. title: This Republican Politician Jokingly Threatens a Teen With a Gun in His New Campaign Ad image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4034bf0e40615bb/69892f5b22fb8528efe2582d/brian-kemp-campaign-video-for-georgia-governor.png?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [campaign ads](/tag/campaign-ads/) ## campaign ads Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Republican Politician Jokingly Threatens a Teen With a Gun in His New Campaign Ad by [Alix Langone](/author/alix-langone/) ## Alix Langone Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 2, 2018 4:43 PM CUT  Brian Kemp Campaign Video for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Campaign Video for Georgia GovernorKemp for Governor by [Alix Langone](/author/alix-langone/) ## Alix Langone Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 2, 2018 4:43 PM CUT A Republican candidate for governor in Georgia has sparked controversy for jokingly handling a double-barrel shotgun while talking with a teen-aged boy who wants to date his daughter in a campaign ad. Secretary of State Brian Kemp is shown holding the gun on his lap as the teen says he has to have a “healthy appreciation for the Second Amendment” if he wants to date one of his daughters. The ad also shows a number of other guns in background imagery, while Kemp talks about eliminating regulations and making Georgia a friendlier state for small business. > [](https://twitter.com/BrianKempGA/status/989977997548670976) The commercial aired on local TV stations and was also posted on the Kemp campaign’s social media accounts. One local station, 11Alive, had [requests from viewers to stop airing the commercial](https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/elections/ballot/why-tv-stations-cant-take-the-brian-kemp-commercial-off-the-air/85-547208348 "undefined"), but said Federal Communications Commission rules prevent it from taking down political ads. The Kemp campaign commercial comes at a particularly sensitive time in the national gun debate, just three months after 17 people were killed in the [Parkland, Fla., high school shooting](http://time.com/longform/parkland-student-diaries/ "undefined"). Since the shooting, almost 800 schools across the country have [received copycat threats](http://time.com/5191146/parkland-shooting-copycat-threat/ "undefined") about gun violence. Backlash on social media has come from both side of the aisle. Some pointed out on that Kemp was breaking two major rules of gun safety — never point a gun anyone or anything if you have no intent to kill and treat all guns as if they are loaded — while others have said they found the ad a refreshing antidote to political correctness. The Georgia primary is May 22\. An Atlanta _Journal-Constitution_/Channel 2 Action News poll shows Kemp is in second place, lagging behind Republican Lt. Gov. 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