Michael Ejercito
2020-02-12 16:10:15 UTC
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/donald-trump-second-amendment-warrior/
Donald Trump, Second Amendment Warrior
BY TTAG CONTRIBUTOR |FEB 11, 2020 |109 COMMENTS
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Donald Trump
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
By Aamer Madhani, Associated Press
After the Parkland school shooting in Florida two years ago, President
Donald Trump chided Republican lawmakers for being too “scared” of the
National Rifle Association to tighten gun laws — then backed away from the
idea.
After back-to-back mass shootings in Ohio and Texas in 2019, Trump embraced
calls for “strong background checks” — only to backpedal once again.
Now, as he primes the pump on his 2020 reelection effort, Trump is going
all-in on embracing the mantle of gun rights champion, a stark turn from
earlier moments in his presidency when he toyed with the idea of pushing
Congress to enact stricter gun laws.
There was no public discussion of tighter gun laws when Trump welcomed
Parkland families to the White House for a private meeting on Monday, four
days before the two-year anniversary of the rampage that left 17 dead.
Instead, administration officials unveiled a website intended to help
educators, parents and law enforcement address threats to school safety.
In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly warned supporters at his rallies that
Democrats “will take your guns away.” Last month, he labeled Virginia Gov.
Ralph Northam a “whack job” as gun rights advocates protested the Democratic
governor’s moves to tighten gun laws in the aftermath of a mass shooting in
Virginia Beach.
Drawing a straight line from gun rights to presidential politics, Trump
tweeted that Democrats in the state “will take your guns away. Republicans
will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems!”
And on Monday night, as he came to the apex of an hourlong campaign speech
in New Hampshire, Trump framed his supporters’ Second Amendment right to
bear arms as being as precious as the rights to privacy, free speech and
religious freedom.
Campaign officials believe the effort could help put states like Minnesota,
New Mexico and New Hampshire in play. For that to happen, Trump will need to
draw even more rural and white men to the polls — key groups that helped
drive his 2016 surprise victory.
Trump’s advisers believe his consistent efforts to spotlight his credentials
as a Second Amendment warrior can help him draw a contrast with the eventual
Democratic presidential nominee. The top tier of Democratic candidates have
made bolstering gun restrictions a key part of their platforms.
Mike Bloomberg, a former New York City mayor, has poured millions of dollars
from his own fortune into supporting a series of gun control advocacy
groups. Former Vice President Joe Biden served as the Obama administration’s
point man on the president’s failed push for sweeping gun reform laws
following the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut. Vermont Sen. Bernie
Sanders, who got a D- grade from the NRA, has been knocked by fellow
Democrats for not being tough enough on gun restrictions.
“Democrats have shown they don’t respect the Second Amendment, which will be
one of many contrasts drawn during the campaign,” Trump campaign spokesman
Tim Murtaugh said.
After spending more than $50 million in support of Trump’s 2016 election
victory, the NRA is likely to have less impact on this election cycle, said
Robert Spitzer, a professor of political science at the State University of
New York-Cortland whose research focuses on American gun laws.
The powerful gun rights group has been mired in financial difficulties,
internal strife within the organization’s leadership, and probes by the New
York attorney general’s office that threaten the group’s tax-exempt status.
Trump’s joint campaign committees and the Republican national party
committee had $195 million in cash on hand at the close of 2019, making the
NRA’s money less significant this election cycle.
But with a hard gun-rights pitch, Trump appears to be strategizing that he
could persuade some voters who have become disenchanted with politics to
come back to the ballot box to vote for him.
“He really is doubling down not on the broadening of his base but for
pushing for higher turnout among his people,” Spitzer said. “One of the keys
in 2016, but not the only one, was that turnout among rural white voters was
a little higher than predicted. This pitch, he figures, will help him get
there.”
Trump and fellow Republicans are likely to face a deluge of spending from
gun control advocates, who think their message will resonate with
on-the-fence suburban voters.
Bloomberg MAIG
Michael Bloomberg. AP photo.
Everytown for Gun Safety, an umbrella group of gun control advocacy
organizations funded by Bloomberg, recently announced that it would spend
$60 million to beat gun rights proponents on the state and federal level in
2020.
The group has not said how much it would spend on the presidential race, but
thus far has budgeted $1.25 million to help reelect North Carolina Gov. Roy
Cooper and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, both Democrats. It
also plans to spend some of that first tranche of money toward beating two
Republican senators, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Martha McSally of Arizona.
Gun control advocates feel emboldened after the 2018 midterm elections in
which more than 30 NRA-backed Republican candidates lost their races.
“His tactic has been to say incendiary things about guns to whip up the
base, but he and the NRA haven’t been able to pass any of the gun lobby’s
priority legislation — even with a Republican Congress for two years,” said
Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, part of the Everytown for Gun
Safety coalition.
When Trump met with members of the group Stand with Parkland on Monday,
administration officials highlighted the school safety website. Stand with
Parkland backed the creation of the website — but it also has urged Congress
to require universal background checks on gun purchases.
Asked if there was disappointment in the president backing away from taking
on background checks, one Parkland parent who met with Trump, Max Schachter,
said the president’s efforts should not be minimized.
“Of course there is always more that can be done,” said Schachter, whose
14-year-old son, Alex, was among the victims at Parkland. “But let’s not let
perfection be the enemy of good.”
On the campaign trail, Trump’s dire warnings about what might happen to
American gun owners if a Democrat wins the White House have become a regular
line in his speeches, reliably drawing boos and hisses for his
to-be-determined opponent.
At a recent campaign rally in Iowa, Trump again turned his attention back to
Virginia, where Democrats in November claimed majorities in both houses of
the legislature and secured the first unified Democratic government in the
commonwealth in 26 years.
“In the state of Virginia they want to take your guns away, can you believe
it?” Trump said. “I love Virginia. Of all states, they want to take your
guns away. The Democrats. Not going to happen.”
He offered similar dark predictions to a friendly crowd last month in New
Jersey, saying the gun control effort in Virginia was “just the beginning.”
And on Monday night, he reassured New Hampshire supporters that his
administration is “going to protect your Second Amendment, by the way.”
Donald Trump, Second Amendment Warrior
BY TTAG CONTRIBUTOR |FEB 11, 2020 |109 COMMENTS
Donald Trump
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
By Aamer Madhani, Associated Press
After the Parkland school shooting in Florida two years ago, President
Donald Trump chided Republican lawmakers for being too “scared” of the
National Rifle Association to tighten gun laws — then backed away from the
idea.
After back-to-back mass shootings in Ohio and Texas in 2019, Trump embraced
calls for “strong background checks” — only to backpedal once again.
Now, as he primes the pump on his 2020 reelection effort, Trump is going
all-in on embracing the mantle of gun rights champion, a stark turn from
earlier moments in his presidency when he toyed with the idea of pushing
Congress to enact stricter gun laws.
There was no public discussion of tighter gun laws when Trump welcomed
Parkland families to the White House for a private meeting on Monday, four
days before the two-year anniversary of the rampage that left 17 dead.
Instead, administration officials unveiled a website intended to help
educators, parents and law enforcement address threats to school safety.
In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly warned supporters at his rallies that
Democrats “will take your guns away.” Last month, he labeled Virginia Gov.
Ralph Northam a “whack job” as gun rights advocates protested the Democratic
governor’s moves to tighten gun laws in the aftermath of a mass shooting in
Virginia Beach.
Drawing a straight line from gun rights to presidential politics, Trump
tweeted that Democrats in the state “will take your guns away. Republicans
will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems!”
And on Monday night, as he came to the apex of an hourlong campaign speech
in New Hampshire, Trump framed his supporters’ Second Amendment right to
bear arms as being as precious as the rights to privacy, free speech and
religious freedom.
Campaign officials believe the effort could help put states like Minnesota,
New Mexico and New Hampshire in play. For that to happen, Trump will need to
draw even more rural and white men to the polls — key groups that helped
drive his 2016 surprise victory.
Trump’s advisers believe his consistent efforts to spotlight his credentials
as a Second Amendment warrior can help him draw a contrast with the eventual
Democratic presidential nominee. The top tier of Democratic candidates have
made bolstering gun restrictions a key part of their platforms.
Mike Bloomberg, a former New York City mayor, has poured millions of dollars
from his own fortune into supporting a series of gun control advocacy
groups. Former Vice President Joe Biden served as the Obama administration’s
point man on the president’s failed push for sweeping gun reform laws
following the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut. Vermont Sen. Bernie
Sanders, who got a D- grade from the NRA, has been knocked by fellow
Democrats for not being tough enough on gun restrictions.
“Democrats have shown they don’t respect the Second Amendment, which will be
one of many contrasts drawn during the campaign,” Trump campaign spokesman
Tim Murtaugh said.
After spending more than $50 million in support of Trump’s 2016 election
victory, the NRA is likely to have less impact on this election cycle, said
Robert Spitzer, a professor of political science at the State University of
New York-Cortland whose research focuses on American gun laws.
The powerful gun rights group has been mired in financial difficulties,
internal strife within the organization’s leadership, and probes by the New
York attorney general’s office that threaten the group’s tax-exempt status.
Trump’s joint campaign committees and the Republican national party
committee had $195 million in cash on hand at the close of 2019, making the
NRA’s money less significant this election cycle.
But with a hard gun-rights pitch, Trump appears to be strategizing that he
could persuade some voters who have become disenchanted with politics to
come back to the ballot box to vote for him.
“He really is doubling down not on the broadening of his base but for
pushing for higher turnout among his people,” Spitzer said. “One of the keys
in 2016, but not the only one, was that turnout among rural white voters was
a little higher than predicted. This pitch, he figures, will help him get
there.”
Trump and fellow Republicans are likely to face a deluge of spending from
gun control advocates, who think their message will resonate with
on-the-fence suburban voters.
Bloomberg MAIG
Michael Bloomberg. AP photo.
Everytown for Gun Safety, an umbrella group of gun control advocacy
organizations funded by Bloomberg, recently announced that it would spend
$60 million to beat gun rights proponents on the state and federal level in
2020.
The group has not said how much it would spend on the presidential race, but
thus far has budgeted $1.25 million to help reelect North Carolina Gov. Roy
Cooper and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, both Democrats. It
also plans to spend some of that first tranche of money toward beating two
Republican senators, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Martha McSally of Arizona.
Gun control advocates feel emboldened after the 2018 midterm elections in
which more than 30 NRA-backed Republican candidates lost their races.
“His tactic has been to say incendiary things about guns to whip up the
base, but he and the NRA haven’t been able to pass any of the gun lobby’s
priority legislation — even with a Republican Congress for two years,” said
Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, part of the Everytown for Gun
Safety coalition.
When Trump met with members of the group Stand with Parkland on Monday,
administration officials highlighted the school safety website. Stand with
Parkland backed the creation of the website — but it also has urged Congress
to require universal background checks on gun purchases.
Asked if there was disappointment in the president backing away from taking
on background checks, one Parkland parent who met with Trump, Max Schachter,
said the president’s efforts should not be minimized.
“Of course there is always more that can be done,” said Schachter, whose
14-year-old son, Alex, was among the victims at Parkland. “But let’s not let
perfection be the enemy of good.”
On the campaign trail, Trump’s dire warnings about what might happen to
American gun owners if a Democrat wins the White House have become a regular
line in his speeches, reliably drawing boos and hisses for his
to-be-determined opponent.
At a recent campaign rally in Iowa, Trump again turned his attention back to
Virginia, where Democrats in November claimed majorities in both houses of
the legislature and secured the first unified Democratic government in the
commonwealth in 26 years.
“In the state of Virginia they want to take your guns away, can you believe
it?” Trump said. “I love Virginia. Of all states, they want to take your
guns away. The Democrats. Not going to happen.”
He offered similar dark predictions to a friendly crowd last month in New
Jersey, saying the gun control effort in Virginia was “just the beginning.”
And on Monday night, he reassured New Hampshire supporters that his
administration is “going to protect your Second Amendment, by the way.”