FORSYTH COUNTY — District 27 state Sen. Michael Williams has issued a statement backing Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s call for a temporary moratorium of Muslim immigration into the U.S.

Williams, a first-term Republican lawmaker from Forsyth County, is Trump’s Georgia co-chairman.

In his statement, Williams acknowledges that Trump’s stance “has caused international stir within the media.” However, he counters, “Many of the reports paint a false narrative and ignore the problem this proposal attempts to remedy.”

The statement continues, “Trump’s call for a temporary ban is due to serious security concerns. The recent acts of radical Islamic terrorism in Paris and now San Bernardino, Calif., make it obvious something must be done to protect our homeland from growing threats.

“Until a solution is found, a temporary ban would diminish the chance that radicalized Muslims who wish us harm enter our country. In the past week, it was revealed that Homeland Security failed to conduct a proper background check on the murderous female terrorist behind the San Bernardino attack.

“False entries on her application went unnoticed by government screeners. Our government is clearly unable to properly screen immigrants from these nations. This is not a call to end all future Muslim immigration. This is a call for strict immigration enforcement during a time of war to protect the people of America.”

According to Williams’ statement, “Pew Research revealed that 7 percent of U.S. Muslims believe that suicide bombings are ‘sometimes’ justified. That is nearly one out of 10 adult Muslims in the United States.

“The study also reports that only 28 percent of Pakistani Muslims disapproved of ISIS. How can we possibly screen immigrants from a nation where the vast majority support terrorist groups?

“In Nigeria, 20 percent of Muslims stated that they were in favor of ISIS. These numbers should be frightening to anyone. We cannot put our nation at further risk to appease the politically correct.”

Williams statement concludes, “Those who claim this unconstitutional overlook an important factor. Who does the U.S. Constitution protect? Last I checked, these rights were reserved for citizens of the United States, not foreign nations."