Gun control advocates' concerns about Donald Trump's Second Amendment were effectively silenced by his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who said in his acceptance speech:
Now, in 2005, shortly before I left for Iraq, my mother passed away, and we went through her belongings and found 19 loaded handguns, hidden all over her house: under her bed, in her closets, in her silverware drawers.
We wondered what was going on, and we realized that as Mamaw got to the end of her life, she wasn't able to move around much, so this frail old woman made sure that wherever she was, she stayed within reach of whatever she needed to protect her family. We're fighting for people like that. That's the American spirit.
Gun control advocates expressed anxiety and concern that the Trump/Republican platform downgraded support for the Second Amendment to seventh on a list of 20 policy pledges. This anxiety was heightened by the fact that not a single speaker in support of the Second Amendment was among the many speakers who spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee over the past four nights.
And that anxiety is intensified when you remember President Trump's ban on bump stocks and his support for “red flag” laws, even though they violate the Fourth Amendment.
They began to suspect, as Jacob Sullam pointed out in Reason, that “Trump has never really believed in the Second Amendment.”
Not to worry.
When pressed about the issue at a meeting hosted by the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) at a nearby hotel during the convention, Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita said:
I think that support and defense of the Second Amendment will continue, but where it really impacts is the judiciary, the appointments of judges, so, you know, clearly one of the most significant impacts of President Trump's first term has been reform of the judiciary.
As many of you may recall, this “remake” led to the Supreme Court's decision in Bruen v. Second Amendment, which overturned the entirety of the Second Amendment jurisdictional argument and the Court's decisions, and has resulted in many Second Amendment violations being overturned, and lawsuits attacking those violations will continue to be filed.
The NRA, which endorsed Trump at its national convention in May, also welcomed his election. Randy Kozuk, president of the NRA Political Victory Fund, said:
Senator Vance has been a staunch supporter of constitutional freedoms, particularly the right to keep and bear arms, and has consistently opposed the Biden-Harris Administration's gun control policies in the U.S. Senate.
Eric Pratt, executive vice president of Gun Owners of America, agreed, saying, “Senator Vance is a friend of America's gun owners and a fierce defender of Second Amendment rights. We are thrilled with his election and look forward to removing an anti-gun president from the White House.”
Further comfort came from opponents of the Second Amendment who were quick to recognize the threat Vance poses: Moms Demand Action's Angela Ferrell Zavala declared that “Donald Trump's pick for vice president has a track record of undermining the gun violence prevention movement,” and Giffords' Emma Brown expressed concern.
Both Republicans and Democrats are concerned about gun violence in this country, but Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have consistently put the interests of the gun industry above the safety of American society.
We owe it to future generations to keep these two out of the White House.
Let's not forget the victories achieved during President Trump's first term. His newly formed group Gun Owners for Trump declared that “President Trump has done more for gun owners than any administration in history,” and listed some of them:
-Appoint three Supreme Court justices and hundreds of conservative federal judges “to interpret the Constitution as written and protect the Second Amendment.”
-President Trump has deemed firearms and ammunition dealers “essential businesses.”
– He repealed Obama-era Social Security rules that effectively stripped Second Amendment rights from recipients who depend on others to manage their finances.
– And he petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn New York City's unconstitutional ban on carrying handguns outside the home. The Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Brune, upholding the Second Amendment.
To be sure, some skeptics are vowing to hold Trump and Vance accountable if there is any wavering on the Second Amendment.
Our position is very simple: We will not compromise, and we will relentlessly hold Republicans accountable for their campaign promises. Republicans campaigned on gun control. We will hold them hard.
Related article:
The Republican platform largely ignores the Second Amendment
