Donald Trump’s ‘Big day’ on national security includes new guidelines on gun control. The good news for the American NRA and most American gun owners is that he is moving to protect the Second Amendment – US citizens’ right to bear arms.
A statement on WhiteHouse.gov makes clear the Trump administration’s position: “Supporting law enforcement means supporting our citizens’ ability to protect themselves. We will uphold Americans’ Second Amendment rights at every level of our judicial system.”
On 9 October 2016, Trump pledged to save the Second Amendment from “people like Hillary Clinton.” He said that the Clinton presidential bid had the second amendment “totally under siege”.
He called the Second Amendment “America’s first freedom,” pointing out that it helps protect all of the other rights Americans hold dear. He also said: “The Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period.”
Trump supports a programme in Richmond, Virginia, that sentences gun criminals to mandatory minimum five-year sentences in federal prison. He says that crime rates fall when criminals are taken off the streets for lengthy periods of time. He also wants to strengthen laws allowing law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves from criminals using their own guns. He supports fixing the current background check system already in place, rather than expanding a broken system. And he wants gun licences to be more like driving licences, where states recognise ‘concealed carry’ permits from other states.
