The National Rifle Association (NRA), while it campaigns against anti-Second Amendment legislation, does have some positive goals they have been advocating for, some for quite a few years.
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Now there is some speculation as to whether a second Trump term, with a (mostly) friendly, GOP-controlled Congress, may be able to deliver on a couple of those items – like, say, national concealed-carry reciprocity and reform of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE.) Best guess: We’ll see.
The National Rifle Association is growing hopeful that after four years of fighting off anti-gun policies in Washington and several state capitals, having an ally in the White House will result in several pro-firearms policies.
Doug Hamlin, the CEO and executive vice president of the nation’s biggest and oldest Second Amendment advocacy, said that the NRA is eager to work with President-elect Donald Trump on multiple fronts, including national-pro-gun initiatives and key law enforcement hires.
“We’re super excited because we have a president who has the benefit of four years experience,” Hamlin told Secrets.
Besides nixing all the anti-gun plans pushed ineffectively by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Hamlin said that he expects the incoming president to help approve national concealed carry reciprocity and to institute reforms at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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I would caution Mr. Hamlin that we were hoping for much of this in President Trump’s first term, when he also had a (mostly) friendly, GOP-controlled Congress, and yet somehow it didn’t happen.
Of course, there are still the almost universally anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment Democrats to contend with. Democrats tend to push the GOP and the pro-Second Amendment community to “compromise” on gun legislation, and whenever a Democrat calls for compromise, you may safely translate that to mean “We get what we want and you get doodley-squat.” But while concealed-carry reciprocity would require legislation, some reform of BATFE can be done by the administration.
President-elect Trump has not yet named his choice to be Director of BATFE, although some names have been floated. Personally, I’d rather see BATFE disbanded, as there is no constitutional authorization for its existence; its presence is an affront to the Second and Tenth Amendments. While we’re daydreaming, how about repealing all federal anti-gun legislation back to and including the 1934 National Firearms Act while we’re at it? Because boy, would I ever love to walk into a gun store like this one:
Yes, I realize that, like many things in the political/public policy sphere, these are things I guess I just can’t have.
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But there’s no reason that the NRA shouldn’t be applying some friendly pressure on President Trump to get what can be done, done. Trump appeared at the NRA Convention and swore to support the Second Amendment; and for all their recent legal woes and missteps, the NRA is still the 800-pound gorilla of the Second Amendment community. If you doubt that, listen to any would-be, gun-grabbing politician and see which organization it always is that they swear they will take on. It’s the NRA – it’s always the NRA.
See Related: Their Legal Woes Are Over. Is the NRA on the Rebound At Last?
NRA Steps on a Rake: Endorses Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola, Earns ‘F’ From Alaskan Gun Owners
So, yes, if we can get it done, let’s get it done. It’s about time the Second Amendment community told the gun-grabbers where to stick their “compromise.” We can win some of these fights now, so let’s get swinging.
Full disclosure: My wife and I are both Life Members of the NRA.