The election of Donald Trump for president caused a collective sigh of relief for most concealed carry permit holders and gun enthusiasts in general. Indeed, Second Amendment rights advocates waited for the election with baited breath, fearing a Hillary Clinton administration would spell the end of gun ownership as we know it.
According to Truth-out.org and other sources, as of August the NRA alone spent some $6 million on television ads supporting Trump. And it’s no wonder considering Trump’s pro Second Amendment position.
Opensecrets.org, a group that tracks lobby and campaign spending, reported that gun control groups spent $1.27 million total this election cycle. Chris W. Cox, the executive director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, released this statement regarding Trump’s victory:
“Voters sent a loud and clear message that our gun rights are not for sale. Despite the unprecedented efforts by New York City billionaire Michael Bloomberg and the gun control lobby, the Second Amendment prevailed. In the face of threats against their constitutional freedoms, NRA members and Second Amendment supporters rallied to elect a pro-gun president.
Trump’s victory repudiates the assertion by gun control advocates that the political calculus regarding the Second Amendment has changed.
Here’s a bit of what we may expect from the next four years:
-Trump plans to defend the Second Amendment of our Constitution. He believes the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed upon.
-He has pledged to nominate United States Supreme Court justices that will abide by the rule of law and the Constitution of the United States; that includes upholding the Second Amendment.
-He wants to enforce the laws on the books and get serious about prosecuting violent criminals.
-He would like to expand and bring back programs like Project Exile, and get gang members and drug dealers off the street.
-Although vague on this point, he says he will empower law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves. “Law enforcement does a tremendous job, but they can’t be everywhere all of the time,” he has said.
-Fixing our broken mental health system is a goal of his. “All of the tragic mass murders that occurred in the past several years have something in common–there were red flags that were ignored,” he has stated. He would expand treatment programs and reform the laws to make it easier to take preventive action to save innocent lives. He does not define preventative action.
-He would like to allow military personnel the ability them to defend themselves on bases and recruiting centers.
-He would employ a National right to carry law, he states. We have some misgivings because how this might play out is unclear. Read our recent post about what we think might go wrong with a national permit. There’s also a coupon code for 20% off a concealed carry permit in that post that you can share with your friends who don’t have their permit yet.
-Also vague is his background check notion. He states he would like to fix the system, not expand it, but doesn’t say just what fixing it means.
-He does say the government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own.
Donald Trump the financier and candidate has wavered and backpedaled on gun issues in the past. We’ll have to wait and see what proof is in the presidential pudding.
