OK, I have to give credit where credit is due …
Trump won the 2016 election.
That in itself is an amazing job.
And, if the platform that President Elect Trump put on his website for the 2nd Amendment is any indication, he’s “winning” on his support of Gun Rights too (so far).
Trump’s Official Position On 2nd Amendment Rights
I don’t know when it was added to the Trump campaign website, (because I’m pretty sure it was NOT there at the beginning) but Trump released a pretty in-depth paper on Second Amendment Rights.
You can click here to read it and I’ve copied and pasted the contents below as of today’s date:
Second Amendment Rights
Donald J. Trump on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
The Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period.
The Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right that belongs to all law-abiding Americans. The Constitution doesn’t create that right – it ensures that the government can’t take it away. Our Founding Fathers knew, and our Supreme Court has upheld, that the Second Amendment’s purpose is to guarantee our right to defend ourselves and our families. This is about self-defense, plain and simple.
It’s been said that the Second Amendment is America’s first freedom. That’s because the Right to Keep and Bear Arms protects all our other rights. We are the only country in the world that has a Second Amendment. Protecting that freedom is imperative. Here’s how we will do that:
Enforce The Laws On The Books
We need to get serious about prosecuting violent criminals. The Obama administration’s record on that is abysmal. Violent crime in cities like Baltimore, Chicago and many others is out of control. Drug dealers and gang members are given a slap on the wrist and turned loose on the street. This needs to stop.
Several years ago there was a tremendous program in Richmond, Virginia called Project Exile. It said that if a violent felon uses a gun to commit a crime, you will be prosecuted in federal court and go to prison for five years – no parole or early release. Obama’s former Attorney General, Eric Holder, called that a “cookie cutter” program. That’s ridiculous. I call that program a success. Murders committed with guns in Richmond decreased by over 60% when Project Exile was in place – in the first two years of the program alone, 350 armed felons were taken off the street.
Why does that matter to law-abiding gun owners? Because they’re the ones who antigun politicians and the media blame when criminals misuse guns. We need to bring back and expand programs like Project Exile and get gang members and drug dealers off the street. When we do, crime will go down and our cities and communities will be safer places to live.
Here’s another important way to fight crime – empower law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves. Law enforcement is great, they do a tremendous job, but they can’t be everywhere all of the time. Our personal protection is ultimately up to us. That’s why I’m a gun owner, that’s why I have a concealed carry permit, and that’s why tens of millions of Americans have concealed carry permits as well. It’s just common sense. To make America great again, we’re going to go after criminals and put the law back on the side of the law-abiding.
Fix Our Broken Mental Health System
Let’s be clear about this. Our mental health system is broken. It needs to be fixed. Too many politicians have ignored this problem for too long.
All of the tragic mass murders that occurred in the past several years have something in common – there were red flags that were ignored. We can’t allow that to continue. We need to expand treatment programs, because most people with mental health problems aren’t violent, they just need help. But for those who are violent, a danger to themselves or others, we need to get them off the street before they can terrorize our communities. This is just common sense.
And why does this matter to law-abiding gun owners? Once again, because they get blamed by anti-gun politicians, gun control groups and the media for the acts of deranged madmen. When one of these tragedies occurs, we can count on two things: one, that opponents of gun rights will immediately exploit it to push their political agenda; and two, that none of their so-called “solutions” would have prevented the tragedy in the first place. They’ve even admitted it.
We need real solutions to address real problems. Not grandstanding or political agendas.
Defend The Rights of Law-Abiding Gun Owners
GUN AND MAGAZINE BANS. Gun and magazine bans are a total failure. That’s been proven every time it’s been tried. Opponents of gun rights try to come up with scary sounding phrases like “assault weapons”, “military-style weapons” and “high capacity magazines” to confuse people. What they’re really talking about are popular semiautomatic rifles and standard magazines that are owned by tens of millions of Americans. Law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice. The government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own.
BACKGROUND CHECKS. There has been a national background check system in place since 1998. Every time a person buys a gun from a federally licensed gun dealer – which is the overwhelming majority of all gun purchases – they go through a federal background check. Study after study has shown that very few criminals are stupid enough to try and pass a background check – they get their guns from friends/family members or by stealing them. So the overwhelming majority of people who go through background checks are law-abiding gun owners. When the system was created, gun owners were promised that it would be instant, accurate and fair. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case today. Too many states are failing to put criminal and mental health records into the system – and it should go without saying that a system’s only going to be as effective as the records that are put into it. What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended. What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system.
NATIONAL RIGHT TO CARRY. The right of self-defense doesn’t stop at the end of your driveway. That’s why I have a concealed carry permit and why tens of millions of Americans do too. That permit should be valid in all 50 states. A driver’s license works in every state, so it’s common sense that a concealed carry permit should work in every state. If we can do that for driving – which is a privilege, not a right – then surely we can do that for concealed carry, which is a right, not a privilege.
MILITARY BASES AND RECRUITING CENTERS. Banning our military from carrying firearms on bases and at recruiting centers is ridiculous. We train our military how to safely and responsibly use firearms, but our current policies leave them defenseless. To make America great again, we need a strong military. To have a strong military, we need to allow them to defend themselves.
First, Let Me PRAISE Trump
Because I’m so SICK of hearing the “you just need guns for hunting and sporting purposes” I’m so happy to see Trump approach the 2nd Amendment the way it was intended.
To quote the second paragraph:
“The Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right that belongs to all law-abiding Americans. The Constitution doesn’t create that right – it ensures that the government can’t take it away. Our Founding Fathers knew, and our Supreme Court has upheld, that the Second Amendment’s purpose is to guarantee our right to defend ourselves and our families. This is about self-defense, plain and simple.“
This is definitely a breath of fresh air to read, that the President Elect is talking like this!
Notice it points out that the natural right of self-defense is a “fundamental” right that the constitution does NOT create. The constitution only ensures (or is supposed to ensure) that the government does NOT restrict this right.
And that this right is solely about self-defense. Period. Full stop.
This is good stuff, and excellent framing for the rest of the text that’s to follow.
If Trump ACTUALLY believes that, then I’m very proud of him because it means his thinking has truly evolved over the years.
That’s a Pretty Good Start … But It’s Not Enough
While I was very concerned that Trump didn’t seem to know much about the 2nd Amendment during the debates (he flubbed some prime opportunities to shut Hillary down), I must say, this is a great start!
But I think it’s too easy …
Especially if Trump gets two full terms.
But even if he only gets 4 year, He could EASILY get all that done in his first year or two.
That leaves two more years for just his first term.
Obviously, there’s a lot more he could do.
And, obviously, these are all the starting points.
For example, National Reciprocity for concealed carry is a GREAT start and would eliminate a lot of hassles … but it’s not enough. Would that include when you travel to all the unfree states like NY, NJ, MD, CA, etc? National reciprocity is “almost” useless without being able to also carry in those states as well.
The truth is that with the GOP in control of both the Senate AND House, there should be no reason we don’t see a TON of pro-gun legislation enacted in the next 4 years under Trump.
If we don’t? I consider it a total failure on Trump’s part. Period.
Under Obama we saw concealed carry laws advance to the point where EVERY state now has one on the books. We also saw, in 2016 alone, 4 more states adopting permitless carry laws (True Constitutional Carry).
If we don’t see National reciprocity, and then eventually, True Constitutional Carry in the same 80-90% of states by the end of Trump’s term I’d be pissed.
If Trump gets two terms and we don’t see full constitutional carry everywhere I’d be really pissed.
In addition we reported on the 5 gun laws Trump could immediately push through:
1. Ending Gun-Free Zones On Military Bases
2. National Concealed Carry Reciprocity
3. Legalizing Silencers
4. NICS Background Check Reform
5. Allow Importation of Collectable Historical Firearms
Obviously, I’m excited about concealed carry rights and also silencers becoming fully legal.
In fact, the entire NFA should be repealed, but that takes Congress. It SHOULD happen though because the law is totally, completely, ridiculously ass backwards and just dumb.
There are some other notable “stroke of the pen” things Trump could achieve quickly.
Make Machine Guns Great Again!
One of those things, BearingArms.com writes Trump could do is repealing the Hughes Amendment:
“One of the most deplorable acts of legislators is to slip amendments into bills just before they are being voted upon, before other legislators know what they’re voting upon. In 1986, a gun control fanatic from New Jersey slipped a “poison pill” into the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA) in hopes of derailing the bill. Instead, House Democrats momentarily had a numerical advantage, and “passed” the so-called Hughes Amendment on a voice vote over strenuous objects. The Hughes Amendment meant that no private citizen could own a machine gun manufactured after the bill went into a law in 1986, though they could continue to possess, buy, sell, and trade any machine manufactured before that time as long as they complied with the stringent controls put in place by the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).
Lawfully purchased machine guns are simply not used in crimes, despite there being some 240,000 in existence. The Hughes Amendment was not passed to stop crimes with lawfully-owned machine guns (as they simply do not exist), but was instead nothing more or less than a spiteful law meant to keep law-abiding citizens already closely monitored by the ATF from being able to purchase new machine guns.
The Hughes Amendment was nothing more or less than an act of spite by anti-gun Democrats three decades ago, and should be repealed in the same manner it was introduced, with a simple amendment to another piece of legislation.”
As I understand it, that would mean you still have to deal with the NFA crap to get the machine gun … which is still bad.
But it’s a step in the right direction I guess and something Trump could do immediately without Congress as I understand it.
Electing 1 or More Pro-Gun, Constitutionally Minded Judges To The Supreme Court Will Be Trump’s Lasting Legacy
As we all know Justice Scalia recently passed away and on of the things that Trump will be able to do now as President is elect a conservative judge to replace him.
This is good, because for the most part (unless you were gay) Scalia was a staunch supporter of individual rights. As Trump’s website itself said:
“We have a very clear choice in this election. The freedoms we cherish and the constitutional values and principles our country was founded on are in jeopardy. The responsibility is greater than ever to protect and uphold these freedoms and I will appoint justices, who like Justice Scalia, will protect our liberty with the highest regard for the Constitution. This list is definitive and I will choose only from it in picking future Justices of the United States Supreme Court. I would like to thank the Federalist Society, The Heritage Foundation and the many other individuals who helped in composing this list of twenty-one highly respected people who are the kind of scholars that we need to preserve the very core of our country, and make it greater than ever before.”
And as ZeroHedge pointed out …
“As of right now, only Justice Scalia’s seat is open and Trump’s replacement there will simply restore the previous 5-4 conservative vs. liberal balance. That said, 3 other justices are near/in their 80’s and could be replaced during a Trump presidency. If all three judges are replaced, it would massively shift the balance of power to 7-2 conservative vs. liberal.“
That’s one of the reasons — for the logical, thinking people anyways — that this election was so important.
The weighting of the judges on the Supreme Court and how they interpret the constitution is very important as to the rule of law in this country.
Overall, Trump Is Talking Like He Supports The 2nd Amendment, Let’s Hold Him To It!
I don’t think it’s any secret that a BIG part of the reason why Trump got elected was because of gun owners like you and I.
And now Trump is talking a good game about how he is going to support 2nd Amendment rights …
That’s awesome.
But we all know that politicians LOVE to talk a big game to get elected and never follow through …
So let’s all make sure we hold Trump to it.
And with the rare convergence of a GOP controlled House, Senate and Executive Branch there’s no reason at all we can’t use the “ballot box” over the next 4 years to advance the rights of all American’s individual liberty back to something — at least somewhat — resembling the America of 1776.