Donald Trump’s second choice for Attorney General is likely to find a warmer reception in the Senate than Matt Gaetz did, but she could face some hostility from Second Amendment organizations over some of her previous positions on guns and gun control.
Pam Bondi served as Florida’s attorney general for eight years, and was in office when the legislature crafted its response to the 2018 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
“In a time of crisis, it’s about finding common ground, and that’s what Gov. Scott has done,” Bondi told Fox Business host Stuart Varney in March of that year, as the Florida legislature was in the midst of passing legislation that, among other things, raised the age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21 and established a “red flag” law in the state.
During that same interview, Bondi praised Trump’s response to the Parkland shootings and expressed her hope that he could be a “mediator” with federal lawmakers.
“Hopefully Congress will follow Florida’s lead and what Gov. Scott has been doing here in Florida and all of us working so well together,” she told Varney as the interview concluded.
Even before Bondi tacitly embraced “red flag” laws and prohibiting young adults from purchasing firearms at retail, some 2A activists in Florida weren’t big fans of Bondi’s tenure as AG. Florida Carry’s general counsel Eric Friday expressed relief when current AG Ashley Moody took over the position in 2019.
“Ms. Bondi made numerous anti-gun decisions,” Friday said.
Bondi opposed a semiautomatic weapon ban in Connecticut after the Sandy Hook shooting and defended Florida’s controversial “stand your ground” law. But she also argued that stand your ground shouldn’t be used by police officers to defend their shootings.
In 2013, Bondi also defended the state’s law that prohibits people from openly carrying weapons, pitting her against Friday’s organization. Her handling of it prompted Hammer to reassure NRA members that Bondi was “a friend of our organizations.”
Bondi also defended the Legislature’s gun-control measures passed in the wake of the Parkland shooting, including a provision that outlawed anyone younger than 21 from buying a rifle or shotgun.
The NRA challenged the law and asked that a 19-year-old plaintiff be allowed to remain anonymous in the case so she could avoid potential harassment. After Bondi fought it, Hammer accused her of “bullying.”
Moody, it should be noted, has continued to defend the post-Parkland gun controls adopted by the Florida legislature and Scott. The NRA’s lawsuit challenging the age-based gun ban is currently pending in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, with oral arguments taking place last month.
Bondi is not an out-and-proud gun grabber, but she does come with some gun control baggage that’s likely to come up during her meet-and-greets with senators as well as her confirmation hearings. Would she, for instance, wholeheartedly defend the federal prohibition on handgun sales for adults younger than 21? Does she continue to believe that Congress should implement a federal gun violence restraining order like the one adopted in Florida six years ago? Would she side with the plaintiffs challenging semi-auto bans in Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, California, and a handful of other states? And where does Bondi come down on the issue of restoring Second Amendment rights to those convicted of non-violent felony offenses?
So far none of the major 2A groups have commented on Bondi’s selection on social media, either in support or opposition to her nomination. Whether she’ll face any formal objections from Second Amendment organizations remains to be seen, and they may very well be holding off until they hear what Bondi herself has to say about the right to keep and bear arms as the confirmation process plays out.
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