The National Rifle Association sees an opportunity with the current Republican clean sweep of the White House, House and Senate, and is preparing to launch several pro-Second Amendment measures that are aimed at smoothing over left-leaning gun control crackdowns in recent years.
The NRA’s boldness comes primarily from Donald Trump.
In November, a couple weeks after Trump’s election to the presidency, the NRA’s CEO, Wayne LaPierre, told members in a video address: “This is our historic moment to go on offense.”
Now that Trump’s seated, the group’s doing just that.
“For the first time in almost a decade, the NRA is shifting from a defensive stance to a pro-active stance,” NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said, the Hill reported. “We’re going from defense to offense. 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.”
Among the measures the NRA wants, the Hill reported:
“In Congress, the NRA wants to win approval of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would allow gun owners with concealed-carry permits to travel with their firearms to other states. This would allow a Texas gun owner to bring their firearm on a vacation to Connecticut, which has tougher gun laws, as long as the gun owner follows Connecticut’s rules for concealed-carry permit holders.
“It would also allow a gun owner in New York to receive a concealed-carry permit in another state. The law would then make the second state’s concealed-carry permit legal in New York.
“Proponents say the law will prevent law-abiding gun owners from being arrested when they travel across the country with their guns. …
“The Hearing Protection Act is another NRA-backed measure that is sparking controversy.
“The legislation, introduced by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), would make it easier for gun owners to purchase silencers to reduce the noise when they shoot. …
“The NRA is also trying to kill a Social Security Administration regulation issued last month that targets disability recipients who cannot effectively manage their benefits due to certain mental disorders, such as schizophrenia. The agency considers these people mentally unfit to own a gun, and under the new rule they will be reported to the FBI’s National Instate Criminal Background Check System.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs issued a similar gun policy that the NRA is targeting.
“The NRA will also push Trump to roll back the dozens of executive orders the previous administration issued on guns.”
