We’re Just Getting Started
The Job Isn’t Finished
Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January and his quick actions dissolving the Biden-Harris White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, plus his executive order essentially dismantling the past four years of gun control doesn’t mean it is time to fold up your tent and go home.
Not a chance. There has been much damage to the rights of American gun owners over the years and it will take time, energy, patience and perseverance to make it all come together. Don’t be frustrated if everything isn’t fixed all at once. Whoever heard of rebuilding a house in one day?
Around The Clock
Second Amendment defense is not a seasonal thing. It’s a 24/7/365 job assignment and if you want to make sure Trump’s actions are long-term propositions, it is time to take the fight to the opposition. The opportunity is here, and the time is now to right the wrongs of not only the Biden-Harris gun control crusade but to go back farther and look at other Second Amendment erosions.
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to sign national concealed carry reciprocity. Legislation was introduced in January and if it hasn’t advanced by now, it’s time to demand it move, and move fast. Back in 2017, reciprocity legislation passed the House, but then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell let it gather dust in the Senate. He’s not in charge anymore.
In his executive order, the president said Attorney General Pam Bondi was to review all presidential and agency actions from January 2021 through January 2025 that may have impinged on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.
Perhaps the Trump administration should take it to the next level. Attorney General Bondi could turn loose the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division on state gun control laws. Ever hear of Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law? Write that down somewhere, or just look it up.
Moving right along, Trump’s return to the Oval Office and his February executive order protecting the Second Amendment triggered anti-gun Democrats and the Far Left in ways that showed just how off-the-rails they are. In blue states, anti-gunners have doubled down, while in red states their whines and protestations have been refreshing.
Those protestations have also been educational. There can no longer be any misunderstanding about the intentions of the gun prohibition lobby and its political allies in state legislatures and on Capitol Hill. Their goal has always been public disarmament and removal of the Second Amendment from our Bill of Rights, turning gun ownership into a government-regulated privilege. For any of them to claim otherwise is a lie, and they know it.
Has anyone checked on the progress of West Virginia Congressman Riley Moore’s Protecting Privacy in Purchasing Act (PPPA)? Introduced in February with Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) as the lead co-sponsor, this measure would prevent financial institutions from using special “Merchant Category Codes” (MCC) to track gun and ammunition purchases made with credit cards.
Of course, one partial solution to the despicable merchant’s code would be to pay cash only for guns and ammunition, but the issue here is to prevent invasions of consumer privacy by making it illegal.
Start Making A List
If you are serious about restoring the Second Amendment to its full and original cornerstone position in the Bill of Rights, start making a list of politicians in your state legislature, as well as your state’s congressional delegation, who have consistently voted against your gun rights.
Also pay attention to which politicians go out of their way to interfere with gun rights progress — those who vote against pro-rights legislation or habitually show up at gun control rallies. Pay particular attention to any elected official or candidate who says nobody needs this or that gun. This isn’t about needs, it’s about rights.
Make it your goal to remove as many of them from office as possible in the next election. Virginia, with elections coming this fall, is a good place to start. Current Gov. Glenn Youngkin cannot run for a second consecutive term, so elect someone Pro-2A to take his place. What happens this year in the Old Dominion might well be a bellwether of what to expect in the 2026 national midterm elections. It will be up to grassroots activists to turn out at the polls and not simply retain control of Congress, but to enhance and strengthen it.
Identify good candidates and start working to help them. Donate to political campaigns. Volunteer to help wherever and whenever possible.
Start Making Plans
If you have never before attended a Gun Rights Policy Conference, put this on your “To Do” list for 2025.
For those who don’t know about the “GRPC,” one question: Where have you been?
The annual event is co-sponsored by the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and this year’s gathering is special. It is the 40th anniversary conference, to be held Sept. 26–28 at the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek. Utah in September is beautiful and this year it ought to be lively!
For four decades, GRPC has been the go-to event for Second Amendment advocates. It brings together the nation’s top 2A advocates, attorneys, activists, and industry leaders to strategize and strengthen the never-ending fight to protect the right to keep and bear arms. You can register right now to secure a spot for this year’s gathering and join some of the nation’s top gun rights leaders.
Go to the Second Amendment Foundation website at www.saf.org and click on “GRPC” to register.
Lastly …
We really have about 15 months to truly make progress, prior to the mid-term elections. There is no guarantee President Trump will be facing a completely friendly Congress beginning in January 2027 — it’s up to us to prevent it from happening — and the real heavy lifting must start now.
We have a Republic, and now is our best chance to make sure we keep it, with all of our liberties, intact. What this means is that we cannot let down our guard, as the firearms community has, unfortunately, done out of habit over the years. The other side — the people who think they know better than you how you should live your lives — never sleeps.
As of June 20, we are five months into a second Trump term. Don’t sacrifice the “good” in a frustrating pursuit of the “perfect.” Accomplish good, and endeavor to make it better.
And then, tomorrow, do it all over again.
