Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock has long been a believer in criminalizing the right to keep and bear arms. Back in 2014, years before officially entered politics, the reverend was lobbying against removing restrictions on the right to carry, and he’s been a reliable supporter for gun control since he took office in 2020. In fact earlier this year he called for “reasonable gun control” after the shootings in Atlanta-area spas, though he was vague about specifics.

“We need reasonable gun reform in our country,” he said without specifying what measures he would like to see passed. “This, this shooter was able to kill all of these folks the same day he purchased a firearm.”

“I think that suggests a distortion in values when you can buy a gun and create this much carnage and violence on the same day, but if you want to exercise your right to vote as an American citizen, the same legislature that should be focused on this is busy erecting barriers to that constitutional right,” he said in reference to ongoing efforts by Republicans in the state to restrict absentee ballots.

The suspect in these cases passed a background check before purchasing the gun that he used in the killings. The “distortion in values” that Warnock is talking about has nothing to do with buying a gun and creating carnage on the same day. It’s about creating carnage. Would Warnock have been relieved had the accused killer actually purchased his handgun several months before his rampage? Of course not. He would have complained about “high capacity” magazines or the need for some other gun control law, but he would have still ignored the actual individual responsible for the crimes in favor of calling for new restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms.

But while Warnock believes that you being able to protect yourself with a firearm is a bad thing, he apparently has a very different idea when it comes to  armed, private security.

Federal Election Commission filings released last Friday show that Warnock’s campaign paid $603,161 between October 2020 and September 2021 to Executive Protection Agencies, an Atlanta-based private security detail company. The company, according to its website, provides executive protection that comes with a “keen eye with a thorough knowledge of the venue through threat assessment” for its clients.

In the third quarter alone, Warnock spent $159,791 on personal security. By comparison, “Squad” members, including Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Cori Bush of Missouri, spent a fraction on personal security when compared to Warnock. Combined, the four representatives spent almost $100,000 collectively on security over the past three months.

A spokesperson for Warnock did not immediately respond to a FOX Business request for comment.

Now I don’t really have an issue with Warnock paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to be protected by guys with guns. If he believes he needs that level of security and his campaign can afford it, he has every right to surround himself with a phalanx of armed guards.

My issue is Warnock’s double standard. Most of us, after all, can’t afford to pay six figures every three months in order to hire a team of bodyguards to stand watch while we’re out in public. Our personal security is just that; personal. It’s up to us to protect ourselves and our loved ones, and outsourcing the job to a professional just isn’t an option.

On some level, I have do doubt that Warnock understands that. I just don’t think he cares. Maybe he justifies his hypocrisy by telling himself that he’s a public official with special security concerns, unlike the average citizen who merely has to be worried about becoming the victim of a carjacker, armed robber, rapist, or home invader. Perhaps he’s convinced himself that it really isn’t hypocritical at all to surround himself with armed protection while trying to make it harder for the average citizen to protect herself with a firearm. Or maybe he’s simply embraced the idea that he’s special enough to deserve protection, while the average citizen should simply depend on police to keep criminals at bay.

No matter what lie Warnock’s told himself to justify his double standard, the fact remains that the Georgia Democrat is working to make it harder for you to protect yourself while paying big money to ensure that he himself is defended by armed security. I expect that Georgia gun owners will have plenty to say about that next year when Warnock is up for election to a full six-year term, particularly if he decides to make “commonsense gun reforms” a focus of his campaign.