The Veteran who gave an impassioned speech in support of the Second Amendment at a North Carolina city council meeting in 2018 is now slated to be the state's next lieutenant governor. 

As noted by his campaign site, Robinson grew up poor in Greensboro, the ninth of ten children, but kept standing back up every time the world tried to knock him down, going on to serve in the Army reserves, work in manufacturing and own a small business. Far from being a career politician, Robinson exercised his First Amendment right to free speech by addressing his town council two years ago on the subject of restricting guns.

"I'm a law-abiding citizen who never shot anybody. Never committed a serious crime and never committed a felony. I've never done anything like that. But it seems like every time we have one of these shootings, nobody wants to put the blame where it goes which is at the shooter's feet. You want to put it at my feet," Robinson said, going to point out that the majority of the law-abiding gun owners are not responsible for gun crime. 

The impassioned speech went viral, being shared over 4 million times within days.  

Robinson didn't backpedal either, going on to lend his voice to support outreach with national pro-gun organizations such as the GOA and NRA. He went on to speak on gun rights at rallies across the country, including in Virginia on the eve of state lawmakers passing anti-gun laws earlier this year. 

Running on a strong conservative ticket in the Tar Heel State this year with a shoestring budget, Robinson easily came out atop a crowded field of 10 Republicans for the open lieutenant governor's seat in March, earning more than twice as many votes as the second-place candidate. Last week, Robinson beat Democrat state Rep. Yvonne Lewis Holley by a greater than a three-point spread.

He is set to assume office on Jan. 1, 2021.

Banner Photos: Mark Robinson for NC.