Three Quick Things Second Amendment Supporters Should Expect from a Trump Administration

Donald Trump made a number of promises when he was campaigning to be the President of the United States.  Many of them can be  achieved fairly quickly. Some will be fought, tooth and nail by “Progressive” dominated states.  Here are three that can be done quickly and should be insisted upon.

First:  Appoint Antonin Scalia literalists to the Supreme Court.  This was the cornerstone of President Trump’s support for the Second Amendment.  Trump should push for this fast and hard.  He should be held to this promise on any future court appointees.  From donaldtrump.com:

Appoint justices to the United States Supreme Court who will uphold our laws and our Constitution. The replacement for Justice Scalia will be a person of similar views and principles who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Trump on the Second Amendment:

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.

Appointing one or more justices who will be true to the Constitution as written, is the most likely policy to be fiercely opposed by gun haters.  By acting quickly, President Trump can get his choice through with the minimum of contention and delay.

Second: National reciprocity for the “bear arms” part of the Second Amendment. This has been a major plank in Donald Trump’s platform.  Here it is:

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.

The proper vehicle for implementing this promise has already been introduced in Congress.  It is HR 923.

Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, who is entitled and not prohibited from carrying a concealed firearm in his or her state of residence or who is carrying a valid state license or permit to carry a concealed weapon, and who is carrying a government-issued photographic identification document, to carry a concealed handgun (which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, other than a machine gun or destructive device) in any state in accordance with the restrictions of that state.

Provides that in a state that allows the issuing authority for licenses or permits to carry concealed firearms to impose restrictions on the carrying of firearms by individual license or permit holders, an individual carrying a concealed handgun under this Act shall be permitted to carry it according to the same terms authorized by an unrestricted license or permit issued by such state. 

There have been the votes in the Senate and House to pass national reciprocity for 10 years.  President Bush did not make it a priority. The Congress knew President Obama would veto it.  Pass HR 923 quickly, while Democrat Senators still fear the strength of the gun lobby.

The third thing Donald Trump can do quickly is end the gun free zones on military bases .  He can tell the Joint Chiefs of Staff to prepare an order to allow military members to carry on post and in recruit centers, to be able to protect themselves.

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.

Bonus. There is a fourth thing where President Trump does not have to do anything, but he should get some credit.  He will keep the Protection of the Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA)

Elimination of the PLCAA  was a major plank of the Hillary Clinton platform. The PLCAA stopped the lawfare designed to destroy gun manufacturers in the United States.   This is the easiest policy to enact.  Nothing is required.  President Trump should get credit for doing nothing in this case.  It is an enormous improvement over a Clinton presidency.

President Trump can do much more, some things are easy, some a bit more complicated.  I will leave those for a future article.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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