“The Second Amendment is an indispensable safeguard of security and liberty. It has preserved the right of the American people to protect ourselves, our families, and our freedoms since the founding of our great Nation,” President Donald Trump declared Friday in a highly anticipated executive order. “Because it is foundational to maintaining all other rights held by Americans, the right to keep and bear arms must not be infringed.”
Such a presidential action stirs the hopes of gun owners who have been wondering when Donald Trump would acknowledge the unequivocal promises he’s made to them on the campaign trail.
“Every single Biden attack on gun owners and manufacturers will be terminated on my very first week back in office, perhaps my first day,” he had pledged to an on-its-feet, approval-roaring crowd attending NRA’s Feb. 2024 Presidential Forum at the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg’s Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex. Yet it’s taken almost three weeks since his inauguration to even mention the Second Amendment, leading some of us, including Gun Owners of America, to ask “Why?” when he’d found time to address many priorities that, while important, could hardly be deemed “foundational to maintaining all other rights.”
Gun owners’ confidence was further tested with Trump’s selection of Pam Bondi as attorney general. Her tenure as Florida’s top law enforcer was marked by support for many of the same citizen disarmament edicts being pushed by the gun prohibition lobby, including due process-denying “red flag laws,” a gun ban for 18-20-year olds, a bump stock ban, and Florida’s unconstitutional ban on open carry. And disappointment was high when Senate Republicans didn’t even broach the Second Amendment in her confirmation hearing, leaving that line of questioning to gun-grabbing Democrats. Bondi didn’t help by following up her assertion that “I am pro-Second Amendment. I have always been pro-Second Amendment,” with “I will follow the laws of my state of Florida and our country, of course.”
On Wednesday, Bondi issued a memorandum to Justice Department employees that, among other things, ordered:
To free resources to address more pressing priorities, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) shall shift resources from its Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement Programs to focus on matters relating to the other priorities set forth herein. No resources shall be diverted from the ATF’s regulatory responsibilities, such as federal firearms licenses and background checks.
That doesn’t sound like much relief for gun owners is planned, but does make fair the question “What else does ‘such as’ include?”
President Trump’s executive order appears to address that, ordering Bondi, among other things, to examine all executive infringements, especially including those enacted during the Joe Biden administration, and come up with and “work with the Domestic Policy Advisor to finalize the plan of action and establish a process for implementation.”
“This historic move sets the stage for a broader restoration of Second Amendment rights,” Gun Owners of America cheered. “GOA is thrilled to see President Trump delivering on the promises he made to gun owners across America, starting with this executive order initiating a whole-of-government approach to restoring gun rights.”
It is a hopeful development. But – and there’s that word – it’s important to keep a realistic check on expectations, and it would be remiss not to identify some potential concerns raised in Section 4 of Trump’s order, particularly. It won’t affect executive authority and “is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States…”
That’s something to keep an eye on, because it will be shaped by Bondi’s and Trump’s inclinations, which we’ve seen from past actions and statements aren’t always the same as those of Second Amendment advocates. That can also be said for the Domestic Policy Advisor, Vince Haley, a former Newt Gingrich aide and Trump speechwriter whom the president elect named as Director of the Domestic Policy Council last November.
There’s not much relevant “gun” information on Haley except to note VoteSmart has a 2015 entry saying he “was rated 86% by the National Rifle Association.” That does not scream “Gun Guy!” or suggest he’d be informed or invested enough to question anything Bondi brings to him, and that’s something to watch for.
What would help head off disappointments would be for Trump to replace the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, headed by Kamala Harris and populated with leading anti-gunners, with the Office of Second Amendment Protection, chaired by Vice President JD Vance and advised by the Gun Owners for Trump coalition introduced in the presidential campaign to attract gun owner votes. Let them have the president’s ear — and us have theirs — and gun owners could help the administration avoid some of the letdowns of the past and start making real progress.
Trump’s Second Amendment order is a good first step. It’s up to us to keep him on the path and walking in the right direction.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
