New Day On The Horizon

Say “Buh-Bye” To Biden’s Bad Policies
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The press room at the 2017 SHOT Show was crowded as
writers watched the first inauguration of President Donald Trump.
When he completed the oath of office, the room erupted in cheers.
Photo by Dave Workman

It was Jan. 20, 2017, in the press room at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, the annual industry event sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and a magnet for essentially a “Who’s Who” in the firearms industry and outdoor media.

There was a large screen television facing a room in which about a hundred gun journalists had gathered to watch the inauguration of a new president and the departure of Barack Obama from the Oval Office. It was quiet as Donald J. Trump took the oath of office, and when he finished, the room erupted with a cheer, for these gun writers perhaps knew the best thing about the new president was that it wasn’t Hillary Rodham Clinton.

She would go on to travel all over the map trying to blame everyone else for her staggering loss, which demonstrated the importance of the Electoral College. Maybe she carved a trail for Kamala Harris, who was soundly trounced in November by the same Donald Trump. He comes back to the White House in a few days, bringing an end to the political career of Joseph Biden, quite possibly the most anti-gun-rights president in the nation’s history. Some have quietly suggested the Biden presidency was Obama’s third term.

Biden’s departure will bring an end to the “weaponization” of federal agencies against political enemies, especially gun owners and retailers, and see a new government led by people who are far friendlier to the Second Amendment.

Most people in the industry anticipate a new atmosphere at this year’s SHOT Show and a better outlook in the months and years ahead.

What should they really expect? Insider recently sat down with Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation and chair of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. He has more than just a speculative look ahead, as he has been in the middle of the 2A battle for decades.

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SAF’s Alan Gottlieb has a pretty good vision on what lies
ahead for the second Trump term in office. It will be far
friendlier to the Second Amendment.

Change the Team

President Trump’s first order of business, Gottlieb said, will be to literally change the lineup of the “home team.” This process has been underway for the past two months following the election.

An “ideal world” scenario will include the following:

“He will appoint a new ATF director,” Gottlieb predicted, “who keeps the public safe and protects the Second Amendment.”

Couple that with a new Attorney General and FBI Director, and it is a lineup that will not treat gun owners as the enemy. At the same time, by default, the new administration will undoubtedly make anti-gunners furious. Watch for resistance from governors and attorneys general in these states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington. Several of them have already thrown down the gauntlet.

Gottlieb suggested this resistance could backfire with the right person in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division. This would be someone who will “go after cities and states that adopt laws and policies which violate the Second Amendment,” he explained.

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Donald Trump returns to the White House in a few days,
and with him will come a dramatic change in the political
agenda regarding guns. Official White House photo

Change the Agenda

With a change in administration and people in charge of various agencies, Trump’s first order of business will likely involve overturning and retracting a number of Joe Biden’s executive orders and actions. Possibly high on the list will be to reverse policies on frames and receivers and arm braces. The Supreme Court has already ruled the first Trump administration’s ban on bump stocks was unconstitutional in the way it was handled.

Early in 2023, Trump vowed to sign national concealed carry reciprocity legislation if it reaches his desk. This puts the ball in Congress’s court, and expect fierce opposition from Democrats, including governors of several states that have restrictive gun control laws. Indeed, the squawking has already begun.

Watch also for a reversal of rules and regulations that were designed to make the manufacturing of arms and ammunition more difficult, which will prevent the firearms industry from being singled out for punitive actions. This administration will not push for repeal of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

If Trump doesn’t completely remove the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, its mission will definitely be reversed.

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Change the Judiciary

During the first Trump administration, the president filled some 300 vacancies on the federal bench, and he appointed three Supreme Court justices. Those appointments have already benefited American gun owners with lower court rulings and the extremely important 2022 Bruen ruling.

During the next four years, expect one and possibly more vacancies on the high court, which Trump and a Republican-controlled Senate can fill with constitutional justices.

Perhaps more positions will open in the liberal Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, allowing conservatives to weigh in on cases filed against gun laws in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Biden has been able to appoint a lot of liberal judges to the federal courts, and another Trump term will “balance the books,” so to speak.

Liberal judges have continued finding ways to dance around the McDonald and Bruen rulings, occasionally using what critics have considered tortured logic. With more 2A-friendly judges on the federal bench, the playing field might once again be leveled.

This could be the key to finally bringing a halt to decades of anti-gun activity in various state legislatures, such as those identified above. Of course, those states will be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, but isn’t that always the way? We’ll find out starting next week.

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Montana Gun Safety for Kids

The Montana Shooting Sports Association recently reported its Be Safe gun safety program for youngsters has continued to grow since its launch more than 30 years ago.

According to MSSA President Gary Marbut, “Over that period, we have distributed most of a million copies of our Be Safe brochure to schools, parents, and others.  This program is designed for kids in first through third grades.  We have gotten two resolutions through the Legislature and one law enacted supporting our longstanding gun safety for children effort.  The Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction approves it.”

If there’s a downside to this scenario, it hasn’t so far appeared.

Recently, MSSA introduced its video version of the Be Safe program, which may be seen here. This is an interactive program, accessible for free to all Montana schools, teachers, parents, homeschoolers, school board members and others, Marbut reported.

“You know that the anti-gunners, who claim to be pushing ‘gun safety’ with disarming policies but who never promote actual gun safety education, claim that their anti-gun ideas are worth the price if they ‘save just one life’,” Marbut said in an email message. “Yeah, right. Well, Be Safe has the potential to save many lives. It’s worth your effort to help spread this message and program.”

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