Gun Rights in Trump’s Next 100 Days

Trump’s first 100 days in office were…something. The news came fast and furious, with so many topics hit and generating outrage by the usual suspects that it became something of a sport for a lot of people.

While most Republican presidents have been happy enough to just not pass gun control and call it good, the Trump administration did a bit more. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was someone many of us were less than comfortable with, used her office to launch an investigation into carry permit delays with the LA County Sheriff’s Office, rethinking their litigation positions on multiple lawsuits, and launching a special Second Amendment task force.

There’s more that could have been done, but there was also a lot of things done that I really didn’t expect that soon.

So what does the next 100 days look like with regard to gun rights? Well, that’s the question the NRA is asking over at America’s 1st Freedom:

The first 100 days of any presidential administration are widely regarded as a bellwether for what’s to come. As President Donald Trump’s (R) first 100 days of his second administration have now come and gone, it’s worth taking a look at what he has done in defense of the Second Amendment thus far.

First, the president signed an executive order just weeks into his second term that promised to further safeguard the Second Amendment. With it, President Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to “examine all orders, regulations, guidance, plans, international agreements, and other actions of executive departments and agencies to assess any ongoing infringements of the Second Amendment rights of our citizens, and present a proposed plan of action to the President, through the Domestic Policy Advisor, to protect the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.”

Perhaps the largest challenge Trump faced was undoing many of former President Joe Biden’s (D) disastrous policies and moves against the law-abiding gun owners, manufacturers, gun stores and the Second Amendment.

Thankfully, Trump has wasted no time on this front.

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The president’s actions in his first 100 days signal good things to come for the Second Amendment and law-abiding Americans. This is clear proof that elections matter and it is imperative to get candidates who respect American freedom into office.

While there are no specific asks in this piece, I have some I’d like to see.

First, the ATF should repeal both its so-called ghost gun rules and the pistol brace rule. These are administrative rules with the force of law, and it’s within the power of the Trump administration to reverse them. That can and should happen as soon as possible. I’m actually disappointed the process didn’t start on day one.

President Trump should also put his weight behind some of the pro-gun measures currently sitting in Congress. Things like national constitutional carry and deregulating suppressors are there for the taking in the House, and could likely be brought to a vote in the Senate if the leadership exerted pressure in the right way. With Trump’s backing, I suspect they’d pass–if constitutional carry wouldn’t, national reciprocity would, and I could live with that for now–and set the stage going forward.

We might have to give Democrats votes on something they want, particularly on things they’re sure Republicans won’t want to vote against, but there’s nothing that says the GOP has to pass it. 

The first 100 days were a lot better than I hoped, though in different ways than I ever expected, but the next 100 days can and should be more of the same.