NRA Plans To Advance Agenda Under Trump

The National Rifle Association is gearing up to accelerate its legislative agenda during President Donald Trump’s administration after being relatively inactive for eight years during former President Barack Obama’s stay in office. ”For the first time in almost a decade, the NRA is shifting from a defensive stance to a pro-active stance,” said NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker, according to The Hill. ”We’re going from defense to offense.” propertag.cmd.push ); ”Now, we have a pro-Second Amendment Congress, and a pro-Second Amendment president, who will sign pro-Second Amendment legislation. That’s a huge shift,” she added.

The NRA is reportedly poised to push expanded concealed carry laws across state lines, as well as laws that more easily enable hunters to use silencers. ”The gun lobby was one of the first to support Donald Trump, and now that he won and their friends control Congress, they are going to expect a return on that investment,” explained former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords of Arizona on Jan. 31. Giffords survived a mass shooting before becoming a representative for Americans for Responsible Solutions.

The NRA hailed Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, as a potential justice whose views on the Second Amendment are in line with those of the NRA, according to The Guardian. Gun control advocates maintain that Gorsuch is lax on gun violence to the point that he might act with lenience in prosecuting criminals for gun crimes. ”Neil Gorsuch’s record on gun-related cases indicates some willingness to make it easier for felons to own guns — something that puts our families and communities at risk,” stated Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. ”Judge Gorsuch reads the Second Amendment in a very broad way, to protect even people who have been convicted of felonies,” said Adam Winkler, a gun rights expert with University of California, Los Angeles. propertag.cmd.push ); Though his record as a justice suggests a special inclination toward Second Amendment disputes, Gorsuch has heard no major Second Amendment cases. ”He doesn’t have a lot of cases, but the cases he does have very much fall in line with the NRA’s view,” said Winkler. Sources: The Hill, The Guardian / Photo credit: M&R Glasgow/Flickr