Trump’s mixed record on guns restores focus during Justice Transgender debate

Recent reports say the Justice Department is weighing new restrictions on gun ownership for transgender people Amazing gun rights group And push President Donald Trump’s record in the Second Amendment to regain focus.

Trump’s opinion In American’s stake, he has changed in public figures over the past two decades, who advocate for the complexity (sometimes even contradictory) of the Second Amendment and gun rights advocates who support the president.

Later last week, the National Rifle Association expressed dissatisfaction with the reports and told Fox News in a statement that the group “supports the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans to buy and use firearms.”

The NRA “will not and will not support any policy proposals to implement comprehensive driving laws and law-abiding citizens Second Amendment There is no right to due process,” it said.

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It is unclear whether the Trump administration will continue to implement these restrictions, and Justice Department officials stressed to Fox News Digital last week that the department has not yet formally proposed it.

White House spokesman Karoline Leavitt described the words as “very preliminary low-level discussion” by the Justice Department at a press conference Tuesday.

She said it was a “policy decision, and it’s too early to weigh it at this juncture.

source Telling Fox News figures last week The Justice Department’s discussion on prohibiting transgender people from buying or owning firearms involves the Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice to the administration. Sources say Justice Department officials are currently weighing a feasible legal framework.

Such discussions may extend to the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, guns and explosives (ATFs) under the Department of Justice leadership structure and have the power to federal rules related to guns.

During the 2016 and 2024 campaigns, Trump saw himself as a staunch Second Amendment supporter. However, his first record was mixed. He often plays a gun rights advocate in ATF policy, and his past remarks about general background checks, especially after mass shootings.

After the 2018 Parkland High School shooting, Trump initially said he would consider raising the minimum age for rifle purchases to 21 and supported “pick up the gun first.” [and going] Passing due process second. ” Later he stepped back.

He similarly suggested support for “strong background checks” following other mass shootings, including El Paso. However, he refused to comply with such legislation under pressure from the NRA and conservative groups.

While seeking a second presidency, Trump positioned himself as “the most supported president ever.”

This is a shift in Trump’s view on the Second Amendment, which is much higher than his views than before his two White House elections.

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On May 31, 2022, a thin blue line sign was shown above the National Rifle Association (NRA) logo outside Fairfax, Virginia, signal support for law enforcement. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

In his 2000 book, We deserve America, Trump proposed a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and supported the waiting period of gun purchases.

“It is a foolish idea for Democrats to confiscate all guns, because only law-abiding citizens will get on guns and the bad guys will be the only armed person left behind,” Trump wrote.

“Republicans walk [the] NRA lines and rejection even limited restrictions. ”

As a result, he said: “I usually oppose gun control, but I support the ban on attack weapons and I support waiting a little longer to buy guns.”

“With today’s internet technology, we should be able to tell potential gun owners that have records within 72 hours,” he added.

In the 2015 separate book Paralyzed America, Trump (and then the Republican presidential primary) had a very different view of guns.

Donald Trump spoke with NRA members before taking office on February 9, 2024 as the second major U.S. outdoor show at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (Reuters)

He argued that the gun waiting time he had previously endorsed was “small completion” but “more government regulation on the situation”, which he suggested was helpless.

He then described himself as a “big Second Amendment” in an interview and continued to gain NRA recognition in May 2016. He also won recognition from the group in the 2020 and 2024 elections.

The NRA recognized Trump shortly before taking the stage at its annual conference in Texas in May 2024.

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There, he urged gun owners to vote, vowing to “roll back” the Biden-era gun control policy, otherwise claiming that under the Biden-Harris administration, the protection of the Second Amendment was “siege.”

“We have to get the gun owner to vote,” Trump told the Texas crowd at the time. “I think you’re a rebellious person. But, this time, let’s rebel and vote.”

Ashley Oliver of Fox News Digital contributed to the report.