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Donald Trump on Gun Control
2016 Republican incumbent President; 2000 Reform Primary Challenger for President
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It's the person pulling the trigger; it's not the gun
We have a Second Amendment and right to bear arms essentially, and I'm very strongly an advocate of that. I think that if you ever tried to get rid of it, you wouldn't be able to do it. You wouldn't be able to take away the guns because people need that
for security. They need it for entertainment and for sports and other things, but they also in many cases need it for protection. Remember this, it's the person pulling the trigger. It's not the gun. It's the person pulling the trigger.
Source: Univision Town Hall: Trump interview
, Oct 17, 2024
FactCheck: NRA did oppose Trump "bump stock" ban
[CNN Town Hall transcript]: Q: Under your administration, you instructed the Department of Justice and ATF to ban bump stocks.TRUMP: Yeah, as you know, the bump stocks are actually a very unimportant thing and NRA, I went with them and they said, "it
doesn't mean anything. Actually, all they do is teach you how to shoot very inaccurately." So we did that.
A.P. Fact Check: The National Rifle Association is "disappointed" with the Trump administration's plan to outlaw bump stocks,
which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire continuously. An NRA spokeswoman says the Justice Department should provide amnesty for gun owners who already have the devices, and says the regulation "fails to address the thousands of law-abiding Americans"
who followed the government's previous guidance. Bump stocks became a focal point in the gun control debate after they were used in the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, the deadliest in modern U.S. history.
Source: A.P. FactCheck on CNN Town Hall (2024 candidates)
, Dec 18, 2018
Remove weapons from dangerous individuals, not all Americans
President Donald Trump dismissed retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens' call to repeal the Second Amendment. Stevens, 97, moved by the March for Our Lives last weekend that drew hundreds of thousands of protesters across the country calling
for action to end gun violence, penned an op-ed published in The New York Times.Trump tweeted, "THE SECOND AMENDMENT WILL NEVER BE REPEALED! As much as Democrats would like to see this happen, and despite the words yesterday of former
Supreme Court Justice Stevens, NO WAY. We need more Republicans in 2018 and must ALWAYS hold the Supreme Court!"
When asked if Trump had a reaction to Stevens' call for repeal, Trump's press secretary
said, "We think that the focus has to remain on removing weapons from dangerous individuals, not on blocking all Americans from their constitutional rights."
Source: ABC News on Twitter posting by 2018 Trump Administration
, Mar 28, 2018
Arm public school employees to prevent school shootings
Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law a bill imposing a 21-year-old legal age requirement and three-day waiting period on all gun purchases and allowing the arming of some school employees.Florida now joins six other states-GA, KS, SD, TN, TX,
and WY--with laws allowing public school employees to carry firearms to work. President Donald Trump has voiced support for the idea, also espoused by the NRA.
Critics have said arming school staff only heightens the risks of gun violence, and poses
a particular risk to minority students, who they said were more likely to be shot in the heat of a disciplinary situation or if mistaken as an intruder.
Scott said he remained dissatisfied with the guardian provisions but signed the bill nonetheless,
saying it would enhance school safety overall. "I am glad, however, that the plan in this bill is not mandatory, which means it will be up to locally elected officials," Scott said.
Source: The Metro on 2018 Trump Administration
, Mar 9, 2018
Opposes arming school teachers against school shootings
[In the aftermath of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018, in which 17 people were killed] Florida now joins six other states-GA, KS, SD, TN, TX, and WY--with laws allowing public school
employees to carry firearms to work. President Donald Trump has voiced support for the idea, also espoused by the NRA.Critics have said arming school staff only heightens the risks of gun violence, and poses a particular risk to minority students,
who they said were more likely to be shot in the heat of a disciplinary situation or if mistaken as an intruder.
Scott said he remained dissatisfied with the guardian provisions but signed the bill nonetheless, saying it would enhance school
safety overall. "I am glad, however, that the plan in this bill is not mandatory, which means it will be up to locally elected officials," Scott said.
Source: The Metro on 2018 Trump Administration
, Mar 9, 2018
Teachers with gun training should be allowed to carry
When we declare our schools to be gun-free zones, it just puts our students in far more danger. Well trained, gun adept teachers and coaches and people that work in those buildings, people that were in the Marines for 20 years, and retired, people in
the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, people that are adept with guns, they teach. I don't want to have 100 guards standing with rifles all over the school. You do a conceal carry permit. And this would be a major deterrent.
Source: Vox.com blog, "Trump at CPAC 2018"
, Feb 23, 2018
End gun-free zones in schools & military bases
On guns in school: Asked by Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on whether she thought "guns have any place in or around schools," [Secretary of Education nominee Betsy] DeVos answered that the issue was "best left for locales and states to decide."
In January 2016, Trump pledged to end gun-free zones in schools and military bases, telling a crowd, "I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools -- you have to --
and on military bases on my first day. It gets signed my first day.
You know what a gun-free zone is to a sicko? That's bait." Asked whether she supported Trump's proposal to end gun-free zones, DeVos replied, "I will support what the president-elect does."
Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition Confirmation Hearings
, Jan 18, 2017
We need Supreme Court to stand up for the 2nd Amendment
We need a Supreme Court that in my opinion is going to uphold the Second Amendment, and all amendments, but the Second Amendment, which is under absolute siege. I believe if my opponent should win this race, which I truly don't think will happen, we
will have a Second Amendment which will be a very, very small replica of what it is right now. But I feel that it's absolutely important that we uphold, because of the fact that it is under such trauma. The justices that I'm going to appoint will be
pro-life. They will have a conservative bent. They will be protecting the Second Amendment. They are great scholars in all cases, and they're people of tremendous respect. They will interpret the Constitution the way the founders wanted it interpreted.
And I believe that's very, very important.I don't think we should have justices appointed that decide what they want to hear. It's all about the Constitution the way it was meant to be. And those are the people that I will appoint.
Source: Third 2016 Presidential Debate in Las Vegas
, Oct 19, 2016
Appoint Supreme Court judges who respect 2nd amendment
Q: What would you prioritize as the most important aspect of selecting a Supreme Court justice?TRUMP: People that will respect the US Constitution. Also, the Second Amendment, which is totally under siege by people like Clinton. They'll respect the
Second Amendment and what it stands for, what it represents.
CLINTON: I respect the Second Amendment. But I believe there should be comprehensive background checks, and we should close the gun show loophole, and close the online loophole.
Source: Second 2016 Presidential Debate at Washington University
, Oct 9, 2016
No guns for people on terrorist watch-list
CLINTON: I believe strongly that commonsense gun safety measures would assist us. Right now--and this is something Donald has supported, along with the gun lobby--right now, we've got too many military-style weapons on the streets. And we need to pass a
prohibition on anyone who's on the terrorist watch list from being able to buy a gun in our country. If you're too dangerous to fly, you are too dangerous to buy a gun.TRUMP: First of all,
I agree, and a lot of people even within my own party want to give certain rights to people on watch lists and no-fly lists. I agree with you. When a person is on a watch list or a no-fly list, and I have the endorsement of the NRA, which
I'm very proud of--but I think we have to look very strongly at no-fly lists and watch lists. And when people are on there, if they shouldn't be on there, we'll help them legally, we'll help them get off. But I tend to agree with that quite strongly.
Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
, Sep 26, 2016
Buying lots of ammunition & body armor should be a red flag
Q: The shooter at the gay nightclub in Orlando would not have been stopped by any kind of temporary ban [on Muslim immigrants, as you have suggested, since he] was an American citizen. What policy would have kept this from happening?TRUMP: Well, we
have to report. The big thing that we're missing here is that people have to report when they see somebody. This man was pretty much unhinged. It was the gun store that did report him when he went in to buy all sorts of body armor and other things.
They reported him to law enforcement, and, very sadly, nothing was done. It could have been prevented.
Q: But, in this case, he was investigated twice by the FBI, was taken off a list. There was no red flag.
TRUMP: Well, there were red flags,
I mean, because when he walked in to buy all sorts of ammunition and body armor.
Q: Should somebody who goes in to buy that much ammunition get extra scrutiny?
TRUMP: Well, it depends. But [in this case the report], unfortunately, wasn't followed up.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2016 interviews of presidential hopefuls
, Jun 19, 2016
Mass shootings are due to a huge mental health problem
Q [to Gov. Christie]: In light of the recent South Carolina shootings, what is the harm in tightening standards for not only who buys guns, but those who sell them?BUSH: We don't need to add new rules. We need to focus on what the bigger issue is:
we should focus on is the violence in our communities. The other issue is mental health. Why not begin to deal with the process of mental health issues so that people that are spiraling out of control because of mental health challenges don't have access
to guns.
TRUMP: What Jeb said is absolutely correct. We have a huge mental health problem in this country. We're closing hospitals, we're closing wards, we're closing so many because the states want to save money. We have to get back into looking
at what's causing it. The guns don't pull the trigger. It's the people that pull the trigger and we have to find out what is going on. You get the Congress. You get the Senate. You get together. You do legislation.
Source: Fox Business 2016 Republican 2-tier debate
, Jan 14, 2016
No limits on guns; they save lives
Q: Are there any circumstances that you think we should be limiting gun sales of any kind in America?TRUMP: No. I am a 2nd amendment person. If we had guns in California on the other side where the bullets went in the different direction,
you wouldn't have 14 or 15 people dead right now. If even in Paris, if they had guns on the other side, going in the opposite direction, you wouldn't have 130 people plus dead. So the answer is no and what Jeb said is absolutely correct.
Source: Fox Business 2016 Republican 2-tier debate
, Jan 14, 2016
Keep enemies of the state away from guns
Q: You've talked about wanting to keep the terror watch list but, under current law, individuals on the terror watch list and the no-fly list have been allowed to buy guns and explosives. Are you OK with that?
TRUMP: We have to have a watch list, but we have the laws already on the books as far as Second Amendment for guns, if people are on a watch list or people are sick, this is already covered in the legislation that we already have,
Q: But under current law people on the watch list are allowed to buy guns.
TRUMP: If somebody is on a watch list and an enemy of state and we know it's an enemy of state, I would keep them away, absolutely.
Source: ABC This Week 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Nov 22, 2015
Make concealed-carry permits valid across all states
I have a concealed-carry permit that allows me to carry a concealed weapon. I took the time and the effort to get that permit because the constitutional right to defend yourself doesn't stop at the end of your driveway.
That doesn't apply just to me either. It applies to all our driveways or front doors.That's why I'm very much in favor of making all concealed-carry permits valid in every state.
Every state has its own driving test that residents have to pass before becoming licensed to drive. Those tests are different in many states, but once a state licenses you to drive, every other state recognizes that license as valid.
If we can do that for driving--which is a privilege, not a right--then surely we can do that for concealed carry, which is a right, not a privilege. That seems logical to me.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p.110
, Nov 3, 2015
Gun-free zones are target practice for sickos
The gun-free zones are target practice for the sickos and for the mentally ill. They look for gun-free zones. The six soldiers that were killed. Two of them were among the most highly decorated, and they weren't allowed on a military base to have guns.
And somebody walked in and shot them, killed them. If they had guns, he wouldn't be around very long. I can tell you, there wouldn't have been much damage. I think gun-free zones are a catastrophe. They're a feeding frenzy for sick people.
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate
, Oct 28, 2015
1998: Against gun laws; only bad guys would have guns
[Reviewing Trump's stances from 1998]: Q: Gun control? Where do you stand on that?TRUMP: If you could tell me that the bad guys, the criminals, wouldn't have guns, I'd be a hundred percent for gun control. But the fact is, if you have gun control,
the only people that are going to obey the laws, are going to be the good guys. So the bad guys are going to have the guns, the good guys aren't going to have the guns, and what good does that do us? So, I'm not in favor of it.
Source: Snopes.com Fact-Check on 2016 Presidential Hopefuls
, Oct 16, 2015
Gun ownership makes US safer, not more dangerous
Q: You have a concealed weapons permit. Why?TRUMP: Because I like to have myself protected.
Q: In the context of current gun violence, would you advise people to get that?
TRUMP: Well, I'm a big Second Amendment person. As an example, for the horrible thing that just took place in Oregon had somebody in that room had a gun, the result would have been better.
Q: So, should people get armed the way you are?
TRUMP: Well, that's up to them.
Q: What about teachers?
TRUMP: I think that if you had the teacher, assuming they knew how use a weapon, which hopefully they would, you would have been a lot better wh
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2015 interview by Bob Schieffer
, Oct 11, 2015
Mental health more important than gun control
TRUMP: No matter what you do, guns, no guns, it doesn't matter. You have people that are mentally ill. And they're going to come through the cracks. And they're going to do things that people will not even believe are possible.
And whether it's the school shootings, which are really very prevalent in this country. They seem to be more prevalent in this country.Q: What's your explanation?
TRUMP: They're just sick people. They are mentally imbalanced.
Q: Do you think we have more mentally ill people than other countries?
TRUMP: I think what we have is I think we have copycats. I think they watch it and they see it here maybe more than other places.
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interview moderated by Chuck Todd
, Oct 4, 2015
Laws are ineffective in preventing gun violence
Q: Should there be a sense of urgency on gun control?TRUMP: The way I look at it, you take Chicago, you take Baltimore, you take various other places where you have tremendous gun violence and death, right?
The strictest laws in the United States-- in the world-- for guns happens to be Chicago where they have a lot of problems. Baltimore, a lot of the places where you have the biggest problem is where they have the strongest laws.
So I don't think it's about laws.
Q: But local laws without a national floor are pointless.
TRUMP: It really is mental health problem.
Q: You don't believe that we have too many guns?
TRUMP:
Well, for example, the school at which the last mass shooting occurred was a gun-free zone and you were not allowed to have guns there. You could make the case that it would have been a lot better had people had guns because they could fire back.
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interview moderated by Chuck Todd
, Oct 4, 2015
Gun violence is inevitable; regulations won't help
Q: Every country has mentally ill people, not every country has mass shootings as frequently as we do. What do you propose to do about it?
TRUMP: No matter what you'll do you have people that are mentally ill and they have problems and they're going to slip through the cracks.
Q: So no new gun laws?
TRUMP: Well, the gun laws have nothing to do with this. This isn't guns. This is about mental illness. You're always going to have difficulties, no matter how tight you run it.
Even if you had great education having to do with mental illness, you educate the community, still you're going to have people that slip through the cracks. And these people are more than slipping through the cracks.
Source: ABC This Week 2015 interview by Martha Raddatz
, Oct 4, 2015
Protect the Second Amendment, but address mental health
Q: You recently released a plan cast as protecting the Second Amendment, but you have also said that you think more needs to be done on the issue of mental health when it comes to people who are disturbed getting guns. Do you support the
California law allowing judges to confiscate someone's gun if they are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others?A: This is something to look into--people with mental health problems are on the streets who shouldn't be.
Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Sep 20, 2015
Take guns from good people & bad people have target practice
Q: [With regards to a shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana] we have another case of someone with well-established mental health problems somehow able to legally buy a gun. What do you think needs to be done to stop this?A: These are sick people.
This has nothing to do with guns, this has to do with the mentality of these people. I'm a big Second Amendment person. I believe in it so strongly, and if you take the guns away from the good people, and the bad ones are going to have target practice.
Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Jul 26, 2015
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
Opposes restrictions on right to bear arms.
Trump opposes the CC survey question on Second Amendment
The Christian Coalition Voter Guide inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Further Restrictions on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms'
The Christian Coalition notes, "You can help make sure that voters have the facts BEFORE they cast their votes. We have surveyed candidates in the most competitive congressional races on the issues that are important to conservatives."
Source: Christian Coalition Survey 16_CC10 on Nov 8, 2016
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