As major gun manufacturers relocate from Virginia to Georgia over firearm regulations, constitutional experts told the Daily Signal that the increasing momentum for left-leaning policies in the Peach State could jeopardize the manufacturers’ new home. Their remarks come as Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., runs for reelection and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is endorsed by former President Joe Biden, eyes the governor’s mansion. Polls show that both candidates have a favorable chance of winning their respective seats. “From the policy perspective, every time you have elected officials in office that are not protecting the Second Amendment, one runs the risk of losing ground to their policies,” Zack Smith, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Institute for Constitutional Government, told the Daily Signal. He added that businesses “would move to a more business friendly environment; they want to be in an environment where their Second Amendment rights are protected.” In early June, Rideout Arsenal announced that it would relocate a firearm manufacturing factory valued at $22 million from Virginia to Georgia over new anti-gun laws enacted by Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat. While Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp welcomed the move, saying his state “endures support for constitutional freedoms,” Republican political operatives say Ossoff’s anti-gun stance could jeopardize future moves by gun manufacturers. “Whether it’s stripping law-abiding citizens of their right to safely own firearms, or protecting criminal illegals like Laken Riley’s killer, Jon Ossoff always puts the radical Left first,” National Republican Study Committee spokesman Nick Puglia told the Daily Signal. During his 2020 campaign, Ossoff publicly said he supports “a ban on the sale of semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines to the general public.” The manufacturing plant that relocated to the Peach State specializes in semi-automatic firearms. On a different occasion, Ossoff said he supports “universal criminal history checks for gun purchases” and “red flag laws to protect family members and domestic partners concerned about the mental health of their loved ones.” Kyle Brosnan, general counsel for the Oversight Project, told the Daily Signal that Ossoff wouldn’t affect the pro-Second Amendment climate in Georgia “so long as the state Legislature and governor offices are held by pro-Second Amendment political leaders.” However, he predicted that the anti-firearm stance of Spanberger and other blue-state politicians will continue to hinder those states. “People and businesses have been voting with their feet in response to progressive, state-level policies for years now. That is why states like California, New York, and Illinois are projected to lose congressional seats following the 2030 census, and freedom-loving states like Texas and Florida stand to gain seats,” Brosnan said. According to Smith, many blue states “violate the Second Amendment rights of their citizens,” driving businesses out. “I think that like many business, gun businesses will continue to move to business-friendly environments. This is not good for local economies. Often, the jobs at manufacturing plants are high-skilled jobs. [Spanberger] should be concerned with the economic consequence of this.”