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PROTECTING OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN
Donald J. Trump on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

The Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period.

The Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right that belongs to all law-abiding Americans. The Constitution doesn’t create that right – it ensures that the government can’t take it away. Our Founding Fathers knew, and our Supreme Court has upheld, that the Second Amendment’s purpose is to guarantee our right to defend ourselves and our families. This is about self-defense, plain and simple.

It’s been said that the Second Amendment is America’s first freedom. That’s because the Right to Keep and Bear Arms protects all our other rights. We are the only country in the world that has a Second Amendment. Protecting that freedom is imperative. Here’s how we will do that:


https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/ ... ent-rights


NBC NEWS: You're for the Second Amendment. Do you have a gun?
DONALD TRUMP: I have a license to have a gun. Yes I do.

NBC: Do you use it? Gun ranges?
DONALD TRUMP: It is none of your business, it is really none of your business. I have a license to have a gun.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Donald ... ontrol.htm

I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun. With today’s Internet technology we should be able to tell within 72-hours if a potential gun owner has a record.

Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.102 , Jul 2, 2000

http://2012.presidential-candidates.org ... ontrol.php (2012 elections)

Trump position on Gun Control

• Donald Trump generally opposes gun control.

• He thinks that every law abiding citizen should have a gun if they want to.

• Trump believes that assault weapons should be banned, “who needs them except criminals and police?”

• He wants a longer waiting period for hand guns, rifles and shotguns. We should be able to tell within 72 hours if a person has a record or mental issues that would prohibit ownership.

I personally own several weapons that Donald Trump does not want me to own. No idea how he feels about my NFA items, but I doubt he'd be in favor.

The Annoyed Man wrote:http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Donald ... ontrol.htm

I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun. With today’s Internet technology we should be able to tell within 72-hours if a potential gun owner has a record.

Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.102 , Jul 2, 2000

http://2012.presidential-candidates.org ... ontrol.php (2012 elections)

Trump position on Gun Control

• Donald Trump generally opposes gun control.

• He thinks that every law abiding citizen should have a gun if they want to.

• Trump believes that assault weapons should be banned, “who needs them except criminals and police?”

• He wants a longer waiting period for hand guns, rifles and shotguns. We should be able to tell within 72 hours if a person has a record or mental issues that would prohibit ownership.

I personally own several weapons that Donald Trump does not want me to own. No idea how he feels about my NFA items, but I doubt he'd be in favor.

After following and reading the information at the links I note the first is from statements made in 2000 while the second link does not provide source for their material. Trump's current statement from my OP link states:

Defend The Rights of Law-Abiding Gun Owners

GUN AND MAGAZINE BANS. Gun and magazine bans are a total failure. That’s been proven every time it’s been tried. Opponents of gun rights try to come up with scary sounding phrases like “assault weapons”, “military-style weapons” and “high capacity magazines” to confuse people. What they’re really talking about are popular semi-automatic rifles and standard magazines that are owned by tens of millions of Americans. Law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice. The government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own.

BACKGROUND CHECKS. There has been a national background check system in place since 1998. Every time a person buys a gun from a federally licensed gun dealer – which is the overwhelming majority of all gun purchases – they go through a federal background check. Study after study has shown that very few criminals are stupid enough to try and pass a background check – they get their guns from friends/family members or by stealing them. So the overwhelming majority of people who go through background checks are law-abiding gun owners. When the system was created, gun owners were promised that it would be instant, accurate and fair. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case today. Too many states are failing to put criminal and mental health records into the system – and it should go without saying that a system’s only going to be as effective as the records that are put into it. What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended. What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system.

I don't yet know that Trump will be a viable candidate or that he would be my choice many months from now. I think that I will forgive him for his ideas from a few years ago. Sometimes life happens and we change our minds about things. Previously I would not have given this man a second thought, but being a seasoned older person graced by GOD with a gifted IQ, I am willing to hear new ideas, compare against old ideas, and evaluate how I feel about such things. I don't often get what I want, but I do often get what I need, so I will take my time, observe and measure, so that with intelligence, wisdom, and GOD's grace, I may make a good choice when the time comes. As always I do not expect or insist that others hold to my ideas and welcome your right to disagree agreeably.

Thank you for your links, TAM.

sugar land dave wrote: Sometimes life happens and we change our minds about things.

This is just a move to gain votes from gun owners during the primaries.

It really isn't a stretch to see that the life changes that prompted Trump's newfound position on guns is that he's playing the two-faced political game now. In 2000, he was just a rich guy, but in 2015, he's running for president.

Keep in mind that Trump was able to get a gun permit in NYC years ago, but he never took a stand on loosening gun restrictions for the average citizen.

I have mostly applauded Trump for straight talk, but this statement actually rubbed me the wrong way. We really can't afford to fall for these games.

Donald trump loves the Second Amendment the way OJ loves Nicole

Sometmes the only change that happens to someone to cause them to change their "position" about something is they decide to run for public office.

I'm not convinced when people that are running for office or re-election claim their opinions had "evolved" over time. I think what really changes is their motives and rhetoric.

TVegas wrote:

sugar land dave wrote: Sometimes life happens and we change our minds about things.

This is just a move to gain votes from gun owners during the primaries.

We really can't afford to fall for these games.

That would just make him a campaign conservative like nearly all the national candidates in the last election. Actual conservatives need not apply for the nomination, as the RNC will not allow them to be the party nominee. OTOH, since Trump has so much of the GOP with their panties in a bunch, maybe there is some "there," there.

Republican voters having been played regularly for going on 20 years now. It remains to be seen if anything will be different this time around.

From the current posts, I see that distrust of politicians runs deep, and I think many have earned it. Either politicos have been unfairly depicted or the vast majority of citizens is wrong. I will let everyone have their own conviction without judgement from me. That said, Trump is not a classic politician, nor was Reagan. We could only get so lucky as to find another Reagan.

Thank everyone again for contributing.

sugar land dave wrote:From the current posts, I see that distrust of politicians runs deep, and I think many have earned it. Either politicos have been unfairly depicted or the vast majority of citizens is wrong. I will let everyone have their own conviction without judgement from me. That said, Trump is not a classic politician, nor was Reagan. We could only get so lucky as to find another Reagan.

Thank everyone again for contributing.

Just a reminder.... Reagan had served two 4-year terms as the governor of the most populous state in the union before he ever ran for president. He was an exception man, for a trying time, and he rose magnificently to the occasion.......but he was most assuredly a politician, and a very good one. By "good", I mean that he understood statesmanship.

Thank you for the reminder. Perhaps instead of a statesman, we are at a time where we need a shark, a strong, smart, politically incorrect President. Appeasement did not work for Nevelle Chamberlain just before World War 2, and I doubt it will deter the communist leaders now in control of Russia and China. Sometimes you have to walk softly and carry a big stick or do as we do and carry concealed. I do hope Trump is sincere in his statement of 2A support and that other politicians will begin to evaluate all of their positions and support the silent majority instead of doing the same old thing which is not working.

Some of us remember when John Kennedy was elected, and named to his cabinet an assortment of imminent professors and businessmen. A reporter asked former President Truman about this, and Truman replied to the effect that Kennedy would be a lot better off if those guys had ever run for Sheriff, meaning that there is a great deal of very valuable practical experience in having dealt with voters that one might not be able to duplicate any other way. Some might reflect that Truman was proven right.

Wow! Someone posted a similar post to this with Carly Fiorina's 2A views. It has 4 pages of replies already. Perhaps this forum values a candidates appearance more than their other attributes. She has not held political office and was forced to resign from her position as CEO at HP computers. She also seems to have clashed with the HP Board and employees on several occasions. Poor Donald Trump! He will never win, place, or show in any beauty contest!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carly_Fiorina

I'm still trying to discover the real Donald Trump. I do like how he irritates the GOP old guard.

sugar land dave wrote:Wow! Someone posted a similar post to this with Carly Fiorina's 2A views. It has 4 pages of replies already. Perhaps this forum values a candidates appearance more than their other attributes. She has not held political office and was forced to resign from her position as CEO at HP computers. She also seems to have clashed with the HP Board and employees on several occasions. Poor Donald Trump! He will never win, place, or show in any beauty contest!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carly_Fiorina

It just may be that very few people here trust Trump's 2nd Amendment commitment, so you're not getting as many answers.

One of the difficulties with political "outsiders" is that they don't have a real political record on which to judge their suitability for office. We can only take what we do know about him/her, and try to infer how we think they might perform as an actual politician. Since we don't have a political record to judge him/her by, one obvious place to start is their pronouncements on the issues over the course of their public lives.

Trump appears to have flip-flopped a bit on gun rights. Now, I'll conceded that people's opinions do evolve. Back in my emergency room days (when I was younger and dumber, which was OK because I was also skinnier and handsomer), I was pretty anti-gun. Obviously, my views have evolved. So I can accept that perhaps Donald Trump's views have evolved. OnTheIssues.org has this to say (http://ontheissues.org/Donald_Trump.htm#Gun_Control):

• A very strong person on the Second Amendment. (Jun 2015)
• I am against gun control. (Feb 2011)
• Dems and Reps are both wrong on guns. (Jul 2000)
• For assault weapon ban, waiting period, & background check. (Jul 2000)

.......and........

http://ontheissues.org/2016/Donald_Trum ... ontrol.htm:

A very strong person on the Second Amendment

• What does Donald Trump believe? Gun Control: Limit restrictions on guns. Ban some assault weapons & extend the waiting period for purchase.
  During a 2013 interview, the real estate mogul defined himself as, "a very strong person on the 2nd Amendment." He believes guns are necessary for self-defense and has written that he generally opposes gun control. In his 2000 book, "The America We Deserve" Trump wrote that he supports a ban on assault weapons and a slightly longer waiting period to buy a gun.
  
  Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series , Jun 16, 2015

I am against gun control

• At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump took issue with Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, the libertarian-thinking lawmaker who set some Internet fundraising records with his 2008 presidential bid. "Ron Paul cannot get elected, I'm sorry," Trump said, calling him "a good guy" who has "zero chance" of getting elected. The remark about Paul prompted some boos and screams from some in the audience, some of them Paul supporters out in force to help their candidate win CPAC's presidential straw poll for the second year in a row.
  
  In his CPAC speech, Trump sounded many themes popular with Republican conservatives. "I am pro-life," he said. "I am against gun control."
  And in one of his biggest applause lines, Trump vowed to end the nation's health care law: "I will fight to end Obamacare and replace it with something that makes sense for people in business and not bankrupt the country." Trump also pledged not to raise taxes if elected.
  
  Source: USA Today report on 2011 Conservative Political Action Conf. , Feb 10, 2011

Dems and Reps are both wrong on guns

• It’s often argued that the American murder rate is high because guns are more available here than in other countries. Democrats want to confiscate all guns, which is a dumb idea because only the law-abiding citizens would turn in their guns and the bad guys would be the only ones left armed. The Republicans walk the NRA line and refuse even limited restrictions.
  
  Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.102 , Jul 2, 2000

For assault weapon ban, waiting period, & background check

• I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun. With today’s Internet technology we should be able to tell within 72-hours if a potential gun owner has a record.
  
  Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.102 , Jul 2, 2000

Here's what it sounds like to me.......

Trump is a lot of things, but he's not a stupid man. He's certainly shrewd enough to see that the party base is immensely dissatisfied with the national leadership. The only people who don't seem to know it are the leaders themselves. He's rich enough that he doesn't need the party to raise funds for him...... or so he says (Trump Claims Fundraiser not a Fundraiser ). So, he's already taken liberties with the truth about his campaign financing. He brags a lot about being the author of The Art of the Deal (assuming he actually wrote it himself instead of hiring a ghost-writer), and I'm afraid that is how he is running his campaign — as if he was putting together the biggest business deal of his life. The presidency is not "a business deal".

We don't let Obama or Clinton off the hook without questioning when they previously said that they believed marriage was between one man and one woman just a few years ago, and suddenly today are all in favor of gay marriage, and nobody in the media questions them with a skeptical eye toward whether or not their change is cynically or honestly motivated. I'm not making a statement about gay marriage, but I AM making a comparison about blindly accepting the mantra of "I've evolved" over some issue or other, without insisting on hearing an explanation of WHY they have evolved. I mentioned above that MY views have evolved, and I am perfectly willing to tell anyone why I (wrongly) thought the way I did back then, and what made me change my mind in favor of the 2nd Amendment.

ONE of my problems with Trump and the 2nd Amendment is that he has not ever explained WHY he changed his opinions about gun rights......... IF he has in fact ACTUALLY changed them.

After I had a close look at his web statement, it is standard NRA points, no more no less. As if Trump consulted with NRA and asked what does it make you happy folks, and someone from NRA said take this statement and post it on your web site.