Trump Jr. May Profit Off New Gun Buying Rules, But So Will Plenty of Others

One of the new proposals regarding gun buying and selling is that it’ll be possible for me to buy a gun from my wife’s uncle, who has a gun store that’s a bit of a drive away, without having to make that drive. We’re both in the same state, after all, and so no shipping of a gun across state lines will take place, but it can come to me just the same.

It’s pretty rad, if you ask me, and while I’d also like to buy guns from friends in other states and have them shipped to my house, that’s not in the cards. At least for now.

But it seems that Donald Trump, Jr., who has his “Amazon of Guns” business, is set to make a lot of money off of the change.

Donald Trump Jr. helped take an online retailer known as the “Amazon of guns” public last year. Now, GrabAGun, where the U.S. president’s son is a shareholder and board member, could reap a windfall from a proposed rule change at Trump’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that would make it easier to ship guns directly to people’s homes.

If finalized, the rule would be among the most consequential changes to the U.S. gun policy in two decades, potentially driving huge growth in online gun sales, ‌according to ten industry officials, store owners, and gun-control advocates interviewed by Reuters.

The proposal would allow licensed dealers to ship firearms directly to in-state residents who undergo an online identity verification and background check, along with a seven-day waiting period after notifying local law enforcement. Currently, online buyers must pick up firearms at physical stores and undergo in-person background checks unless they have a permit.

Some gun shop owners, industry officials and gun control advocates argue the direct shipping of firearms poses significant public safety and security risks and threatens the viability of small brick-and-mortar gun shops.

The change could benefit Trump Jr., whose more than 300,000 shares, opens new tab in GrabAGun are worth more than $700,000 – down from more than $5 million last year.

Of course, Reuters got it wrong, as there doesn’t seem to be a seven-day waiting period, but a seven-day deadline for the local police to be notified by the FFL via a couple of options, including an electronic one that has yet to be designed.

Still, it’s pretty clear that Trump Jr. will stand to make a decent chunk of change…if people who live in Texas, where the company has its only storefront, from what I can tell. Sure, they might branch out after the rule goes into effect, putting a storefront in every state or whatever, but as of right now, that’s not the case.

And while Trump Jr. will potentially make a good bit more money because of the rule, so will a lot of other gun stores.

When I walk into my local stores, I’m met with a lot of guns in cases and on the walls, but if what I’m looking for isn’t there, I either have to order it, have it shipped to the store, then go back and finish up the transfer. With the new rule, I can just find a gun store in my state that has it in stock, buy it from them, then wait for the box to arrive at my doorstep.

Trump Jr.’s GrabAGun might do well, but it might not. That’s not guaranteed, even with the rule change. Again, the company has one storefront, and it’s in Texas, where there are a lot of other gun stores, and they can’t use the new rule to ship them out of state.

But Reuters wants people to be alarmed and think this is some kind of graft, that the rules are changing so the president’s son can profit. The fact that so few of these same people had an issue with Hunter Biden getting a pardon for breaking federal gun laws makes it hard for me to take them seriously.

Especially when it’s still a free market. People are going to buy from a lot of places in their states, not just from the Trump in the business.

And honestly, this isn’t going to be as big of a thing as some people want to believe. I suspect most of us want to handle a gun before we buy it, so unless I fondle someone else’s and fall in love, I’m more likely to make the trip to buy a gun in the first place.

Then again, this is Reuters, which doesn’t even seem to employ people with basic reading comprehension.

Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

Help us continue to report on their efforts and legislative successes. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.