Trump On Guns
When it comes to the Second Amendment none of us are immune to what effects it. We have liberals at every turn crying in their hemp shirt tails about how terrible it is for a law-abiding citizen to have access to firearms of any kind. That usually ends up meaning more media attention for them and none for the grandmother that just defended her elderly husband from being attacked by a group of teen thugs. Along comes President Elect Trump. The one guy that has stirred things up
more than a spoon at a London tea party. As with anyone who gets into politics I believe exactly none of what they say until I see it. On one hand...new politician...on the other, the man promised to negotiate manufacturers back onto US soil...and he’s done that even before taking office. Let’s get to policies. I took the following from his website:
Defend the Second Amendment of our Constitution. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period.
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.
Enforce the laws on the books. We need to get serious about prosecuting violent criminals.
Expand and bring back 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.
Empower law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves. Law enforcement does a tremendous job, but they can’t be everywhere all of the time.
Fix our broken mental health system. 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 must expand treatment programs, and reform the laws to make it easier to take preventive action to save innocent lives. Most people with mental health problems are not violent, but just need help, and these reforms will help everyone.
Defend the rights of law-abiding gun owners:
Military bases and recruiting centers - to have a strong military, we need to allow them to defend themselves
National right to carry – should be legal in all 50 states
Background checks - we need to fix the system we have and make it work as intended. What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system.
Gun and magazine bans - the government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own
So, defend the 2A no matter what? That’s a bit vague. Follow that up by “...shall not be infringed upon. Period.” and it at least sounds right but one might argue that there are already infringements. For instance, anything that is NFA regulated. Is it really the government's business what modification I do to the length of my barrel or the addition of an accessory to quiet the sound of the gun...as long as I use them lawfully? So will these infringements be addressed? Only time will tell. Okay, here is a big one for me, Supreme Court Justices. For me, there really wasn’t a bigger issue in the election. How would we recover if we didn’t get a president that would nominate conservative judges that wouldn’t legislate from
the bench? Obama did enough damage, via executive order, during his time in office that a hippie judge could finish off our great nation like a bullet to the head. Not to mention the possibility of multiple judicial nominations. So, if a brand new President Trump keeps his word on this issue he’ll be worth any mistakes he makes, in my book. Enforcing laws on the books is a great thing. He didn’t say anything about the possibility of new laws, though. That could go either way for us. Project Exile...sounds great. Let’s get more murderers off the streets. That needs to be followed by protections for self-defense cases. In some states, you have to retreat from your home in an attempt to let the guy that just killed your wife get away...or face jail time yourself. I’m sorry, that doesn’t work for me. Lock up more violent criminals while protecting the victims that did nothing more than defend their families and you have a deal. As a follow up to the previous topic...empower those who defend themselves. Great! How are you going to do that? I’m not asking to second guess your desires to do this. I would seriously like to know the intent here. Are we talking about federal judges that will see things from a constitutional level or new legislation to protect the victim of a violent crime that happens to face shoot the perp to save his teenage daughter? I’m good with both, by the way. Fixing out mental health system is a big deal. If we can get people the help they need before they become violent that would be fantastic. We need to get
those people some help while also protecting the guy/gal that just lost their spouse and needs to have some medication to help get them through a rough time...without removing their constitutional right to own a firearm. There’s a big stigma placed on people. “Oh, you’re on Prozac? You must be a total wacko.” No, maybe they just have a tough time getting over something. Or maybe they are a returning service member with PTSD that just needs a helping hand. Let’s get rid of the stigma of the loony that needs meds and just get them the help they need. “Defend the rights of law-abiding gun owners: Military bases and recruiting centers - to have a strong military, we need to allow them to defend themselves
National right to carry – should be legal in all 50 states Background checks - we need to fix the system we have and make it work as intended. What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system. Gun and magazine bans - the government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own." All fantastic places to start. Magazine capacity bans...are freaking stupid. Drop mic and walk off stage...no more needs to be said. They’re stupid. National right to carry? Yes. Done right it could be a great thing. I think you should allow State Sovereignty and allow them to have their own permit process but like a driver's license, allow that permit to be just as valid in Arizona as it is in New York. Then we’ll have something to write home about. Military bases and recruiting centers...why we have disarmed our military at home I will never understand. GIVE THEM BACK THEIR GUNS! They’re trained...I think they’ll do fine. Background checks...I could go on for hours on this one. The system sucks more than a two dollar hooker on double shlob Wednesday. Don’t believe me? Ask any gun dealer that got his nuts nailed to the wall by the ATF because the agent that was in last told them that postal abbreviations were fine...and the next agent didn’t think so. There is far too much stress on having information the way the agent doing the audit wants to see it and not on having all the proper information. Name...Address...Dates...Firearm info...done? Nope, they want to make sure that you placed the period in the correct place of face business closing fines. The fact that there is zero consistency from agent to agent doesn’t help. I have literally been told, when explaining how it was done in Utah before my move to Texas that, “well you’re not in Utah anymore.” Really...I hadn’t noticed. Look, it all comes down to will Trump keep his word. I think he has the potential for greatness here. If he keeps his word and goes through with some of these changes we could see a real renaissance in the gun community. New patents created, new innovations achieved, and even an expansion of freedom. We’ll just have to wait and see.
