California Senator Presses Bondi on Past Support for Gun Control

Donald Trump’s pick for Attorney General faced some tough questions during the first round of her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, but drew praise from an unlikely source as well. 

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) honed in on the gun control laws adopted by Florida lawmakers in the wake of the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, which were largely supported by Bondi ahead of passage and defended by her during her tenure as Florida’s Attorney General. 

“In the wake of the Parkland shooting in 2018, you expressed support for certain gun control measures in Florida, including raising the minimum age for firearm purchases and implementing red flag laws, which I agree with and I support,” Padilla said. “They are proven to make a difference and to save lives. How would you use the position of Attorney General to advance these commonsense gun safety policies on a national level?”

He referenced a controversial law passed in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High mass shooting, which resulted in the death of 17 people. After the tragedy, Gov. Rick Scott signed a gun control package raising the purchasing age for assault rifles to 21 and instating red flag laws that allowed for individuals’ guns to be seized temporarily if courts decide they pose a danger to themselves or others.

Bondi tried to thread the needle in her response to Padilla, declaring she’s “always been pro-Second Amendment” but would also meet with Padilla (and presumably other lawmakers as well) to “review any legislation” they have in mind. 

Bondi didn’t back away from her previous comments in support of Florida’s “red flag” law and ban on retail gun sales to adults under the age of 21, which is still facing a court challenge brought by the NRA. An en bacn panel on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in that lawsuit a few months ago, and we’re still waiting to see if the court will side with the NRA or uphold the decision from a three-judge panel in favor of the Florida law. 

Despite Bondi’s defense of Florida’s post-Parkland gun control package most 2A groups aren’t actively opposing her nomination as AG, though organizations like Gun Owners of America have expressed their concerns. 

“Obviously, we want an attorney general who will support our Second Amendment rights 100% of the time,” Erich Pratt, senior vice president of GOA, told Secrets.

To be clear, GOA and most Second Amendment groups are not opposed to Bondi, in large part because Trump has assured them that he is their ally. Trump, for example, has repeatedly appeared at National Rifle Association conventions and promised his full endorsement.

However, they want to make sure she won’t fall back into her gun-control ways once in office.

“While Bondi has done some good things for the Second Amendment, she’s also taken some horrible stances on your God-given rights,” a GOA letter to supporters noted. “On top of praising the Parkland gun control, defending the gun ban for 18-20-year-olds, and upholding the unconstitutional ban on open carry, Pam Bondi was also on the wrong side of the George Zimmerman shooting of Trayvon Martin,” the memo said, citing several hot-button issues.

The firearms-focused newsletter The Reload has described her gun positions as “complex.”

I’d say that’s a fair assessment from The Reload’s Jake Fogelman. Bondi has opposed semi-auto bans and vocally defended Kyle Rittenhouse in 2020, but her vigorous defense of Florida’s post-Parkland gun laws has also drawn the ire of groups like the NRA and Florida Carry. 

Ultimately, though, if Bondi is confirmed as Attorney General she’ll be following Trump’s lead, and he’s repeatedly pledged to protect the right to keep and bear arms and to do no harm to lawful gun owners. From a pure 2A perspective there were certainly stronger candidates out there for Trump to pick, but I suspect that her past support and defense of Florida’s gun laws won’t derail her nomination, and she’ll soon have hte opportunity to prove she’s as pro-Second Amendment as she asserted on Wednesdsay.