For Anthony Mackey, 29, guns were part of his upbringing in Albany, Georgia. As a teen, he joined a gang, and saw firsthand the incredible power of a gun. Mackey says being shot at was a turning point in his life.

Guns are a fixture in many Southern homes. Pew Research estimates at least one in three households keep a gun. We caught up with some gun owners around Georgia to ask why and when they’re armed. “When I was a little girl, my father taught me how to shoot. And he felt we needed to know how to protect our family. I was eight years old when he first put a gun in my hand,” said CoCo from Atlanta. “I own ‘em for hunting, I own ‘em for protection. Matter of fact I got one right here in the door of my

A special hour about guns in the South: the people who own them, the emotions they stir, how they’re bought and sold, the total cost of gun violence, and the history of laws controlling who has access to them. Guns are a staple of many Southern homes. Pew Research estimates at least one in three households keep a gun. We caught up with some gun owners around Georgia to ask why and when they’re armed. Then, we get a primer on current Georgia gun laws, and how we became one of the most permissive

Georgia’s hunting season for firearms opened October 21. GPB’s Emily Cureton joined a father and son hunting deer together opening weekend. She sends us this audio postcard from the woods of Monroe County.

Amid the barrage of news stories about gun violence, there are the real people whose lives are torn apart by tragedy. Semaj Clark, 20, is one of them. Two years ago, he was paralyzed after being shot in Savannah. Now, he’s confined to a wheelchair. Before becoming a vocal anti-gun violence advocate, Semaj was involved in gang activity. He says the media have a certain responsibility when they cover shootings.

Guns are more controversial in America than abortion, marijuana, and same-sex marriage . Many of the opinions surrounding guns come from what we hear and see through the media . And yet, our passions about weapons reflect deeper psychological values. We talk about the emotion of gun culture with Katherine White , Professor of Psychology at Kennesaw State University. And we discuss how the media plays its part in perpetuating stereotypes, or even violence, with Ben Hallman, Deputy Editor for The

Georgia is no stranger to the tragedy of gun violence. On a November day in 2012, Atlanta native Jordan Davis was shot and killed at a Jacksonville, Florida gas station. The African-American teen was unarmed when a white man named Michael Dunn shot him. Dunn was reportedly angered by the music Davis and his friends were playing in their car. Michael Dunn drew a life sentence for that murder. During the trial, Dunn told the judge he may have saved someone's life by killing Jordan Davis.

The Peach State is a leading exporter of illegal firearms. That’s largely due to the I-95 corridor, where guns flow from Georgia to other parts of the country with stricter gun laws. This route’s nicknamed the Iron Pipeline. Many of the illegal weapons end up in New York City. We talk about this with BuzzFeed News National Editor Tina Susman and New York City’s Public Advocate, Tish James.

Health economist Ted Miller says to understand the real cost of gun violence, you must factor in the value of human life. According to Miller, the monetary cost of gun violence in Georgia in 2012 was more than $9 billion. He breaks down the cost of shootings.

For most of us, our idea of politics is influenced by what we see on TV. Millions of Americans regularly watch shows like “The West Wing,” “Veep,” and " House of Cards ." Georgia native Jay Carson worked as supervising producer and political consultant for Netflix’s “House of Cards.” We talk with him about how to write engaging political drama in 2017, and how much the fictional White House resembles the real one.