Michelle Nunn in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

On Gun Control: Background checks for criminals & terrorists

Q: Do you favor renewing the ban on assault weapons?

NUNN: I respect the Second Amendment. I have a longstanding heritage of hunters. My mom still carries the 20-gauge that her mother gave her. I have a 10-year-old son now who likes to hunt. What I am for, and what most people are for, are background checks for criminals and terrorists, and for those who are mentally unstable. I think that's common ground that we can all agree upon. I think that's what I would be standing for.

Q: Assault weapons ban, yes or no?

NUNN: It has been hard to really measure its success, and it has not necessarily reduced violence. And I just don't think it's on the table right now.

Source: Jim Galloway in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Jul 24, 2013

On Immigration: Pathway to citizenship makes sense

Q: Would you have voted for the recent Senate immigration reform bill?

NUNN: I'm not in the Senate yet, so I won't go into the hypotheticals. I will say that I admire the senators that are working together, like Marco Rubio and John McCain, to work with our Democrats to get things done. I think the immigration bill is one of the rare examples where people are coming together for a common-sense solution. We've got the Chamber of Commerce, labor unions--we've got a lot of people saying this is a pragmatic solution for immigration challenges. It's good for the economy, it's good for deficit reduction.

Q: What about a pathway to citizenship?

NUNN: I think the pathway to citizenship that Marco Rubio and others have defined makes sense. It asks people to go to the back of the line. It asks them to enlist in their tax-paying responsibilities as citizens, and to contribute and to wait their turn. There's over a decade-long line before they get to enjoy the fruits of citizenship.

Source: Jim Galloway in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Jul 24, 2013

On Budget & Economy: Supports "Gang of Eight" deal to reduce $17T debt

Nunn said, "I've learned that you can't wait for somebody else to do it. Everybody has an individual role and a responsibility to contribute where they can." Nunn said she intends to make the nation's finances and deficit reduction a key focus of her campaign, picking up where Sen. Saxby Chambliss leaves off. Chambliss, a Republican who retires next year, has played a central role in the so far unsuccessful "Gang of Eight" effort to craft a deal to reduce the $17 trillion federal debt. Source: Jim Galloway in Atlanta Journal-Constitution Jul 22, 2013

On Civil Rights: Let states and individual churches decide on gay marriage

On gay marriage: Nunn said she agreed with the U.S. Supreme Court decision that left the definition of marriage to the individual states. "I also believe that marriage is not only a legal construct, but a sacrament, and every religious institution has to be able to define it for themselves," she said. But on a personal level, Nunn said she favors marriage equality. Source: Jim Galloway in Atlanta Journal-Constitution Jul 22, 2013

On Health Care: Fix problems with ObamaCare; don't eliminate it

On the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare: "It's difficult for small businesses. I think there are things that are not working with ACA. That's something that needs to be changed," she said. But Nunn's emphasis was on fixing health care reform, not eliminating it. She also pointed out that, by rejecting an expansion of Medicaid under the new law, Georgia was depriving 25,000 veterans of health care coverage. Source: Jim Galloway in Atlanta Journal-Constitution Jul 22, 2013

On Homeland Security: Private-public partnership for national service

One of Nunn's issues will echo loudly of her father, Sam Nunn. Throughout his 24 years in the Senate, which immediately followed the end of the U.S. military draft, Sam Nunn worried about a shrinking sense of citizenship in America. His daughter is of the same mind.

"We can't let only our military men and women, 1% of our population, carry the burden of securing the country," Michelle Nunn said. She cites Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan: "He's called for a million young people to commit to national service. That's not calling for federal funding. It's talking about a private-public partnership. That's one of the things I'll be talking about."

Source: Jim Galloway in Atlanta Journal-Constitution Jul 22, 2013

The above quotations are from Media coverage of GA political races in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Click here for other excerpts from Media coverage of GA political races in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Click here for other excerpts by Michelle Nunn. Click here for a profile of Michelle Nunn.
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