Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Bye-Bye, Biden! Trump Inauguration Signals Sea Change on the Second Amendment

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Bye-Bye, Biden! Trump Inauguration Signals Sea Change on the Second Amendment

Some elections are won and lost on narrow grounds. But on many of the most important issues of the day, Donald Trump’s policies promise not just to be different from, but the opposite of, Joe Biden’s. One such area is the Second Amendment. Joe Biden was the most anti-gun chief executive since Bill Clinton. Donald Trump, meanwhile, believes in the Second Amendment and has promised to take actions that will affirmatively protect and advance the right to keep and bear arms.

Joe Biden set the tone for his administration’s approach to firearms policy by nominating a professional gun control activist, David Chipman, to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The NRA helped defeat Chipman’s appointment, but his successor, Steven Dettelbach, was just as bad on the merits, if not as polarizing a personality.

Dettelbach had previously held several positions as an attorney in the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ), including as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio during the Obama-Biden administration. It was revealed during his ATF confirmation proceedings that Dettelbach had never owned a firearm and knew virtually nothing about guns, including how to define the so-called “assault weapons” he had advocated banning during his career. But he proved endlessly pliant to the administration’s gun control schemes, obediently rubber-stamping whatever anti-gun policies were put before him.

The ATF under Biden-Dettelbach promulgated three major anti-gun rules that mainly targeted industry or individual gun owners, rather than violent criminals. The subject matter included braced pistols, the definition of a “firearm” and related marking requirements, and who needed to be federally licensed to conduct firearm sales. The rules provoked numerous court challenges and injunctions; one is still pending decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Enforcement policies also took a dark turn under Biden-Dettelbach. Most notoriously, the administration undertook a “zero-tolerance” policy toward routine inspections of Federal Firearm Licensees (FFLs). Mistakes that once would have been treated as an opportunity to educate FFLs and improve their compliance procedures became the grounds for immediate license revocation proceedings. Livelihood and businesses were lost, as were resources for Americans to lawfully exercise their right to obtain firearms and related items.

Ironically, at the same time the administration was revoking as many FFLs as it could, it was also promoting a policy that made it legally perilous to sell firearms without an FFL, even on a small scale. The administration claimed its goal was to ensure more sales were subject to background checks. But taken together, these moves signaled a desire to expand the administration’s authority to punish as many licensed and unlicensed firearm sales as possible, thus suppressing the market for guns.

Fortunately, the opposite effect occurred. Disturbed by rampant crime and the unraveling of trust in many American institutions – from the media to federal law enforcement agencies – a broadening cross-section of U.S. citizens began embracing their Second Amendment rights for the first time. This included record numbers of women and African Americans.

The ATF’s field operations also took on an increasingly overbearing quality. Citizens made videos of agents visiting their homes for heavy-handed “compliance checks” that lacked any judicial or statutory authorization. The ATF also conducted seemingly gratuitous raids, including on the homes of a high-ranking Arkansas city employee and a Baltimore Second Amendment advocate. Tragically, the former raid resulted in the death of a suspect with no criminal record accused of nothing more than unlicensed sales at gun shows. The latter, meanwhile, terrorized a school district employee and his family and resulted in no seizures of any firearms or ammunition. The justifications for these tactics, if there are any, remain unexplained.

The problems, however, were not confined to ATF. The Biden-Harris administration undertook a “whole of government” approach to suppressing Second Amendment rights, pulling levers throughout the federal bureaucracy to clamp down on gun owners and firearm-related businesses. Career firearm prohibition advocates were put on the public payroll via the so-called White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, headed by none other than vice president and failed presidential candidate, Kamala Harris.

This office was involved in creating a red flag law clearinghouse within the DOJ to promote state laws to seize lawfully owned guns from supposedly “dangerous” individuals. It also held summits with anti-gun state officials to encourage them to pursue other anti-gun policies and litigation within their own jurisdictions.

Lawfare was also the order of the day, with crime-ridden cities looking for scapegoats within the firearm industry and for ways to undermine the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which prevents meritless strike suits against gun industry members. American gun control activists even openly colluded with Mexico to try and hold American gun businesses responsible for drug cartel violence south of the border. One of those cases is also before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Commerce Department, as well, got involved in the administration’s anti-gun politics, cracking down on licensed firearms exports and creating a “presumption of disapproval” for various types of sales. And the public health apparatus resumed its taxpayer-funded gun control advocacy, under the guise of “gun violence research.”

For his own part, Joe Biden never missed an opportunity to portray violent crime as the by-product of law-abiding Americans owning guns. He repeatedly exploited high-profile crimes to call for broad bans on America’s most popular semiautomatic rifles, whether those types of guns were involved in those incidents or not.

Joe Biden also signed the first significant federal gun control law in almost three decades, 2022’s misnamed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It fortunately did not go as far as its most enthusiastic proponents had hoped, thanks in large part to NRA-ILA’s efforts against it. But Biden stretched it as far as he could (and farther than many legislators who voted for it intended) in his campaign to suppress gun ownership.  

Fortunately, Americans repudiated the Biden-Harris administration in the clearest possible terms by electing a president who promised to reverse many of its highest-profile policies.

In terms of the Second Amendment, this means repealing Biden’s overreaching rules and executive actions, appointing pro-gun officials and judges, and signing pro-gun legislation that Congress sends to President Trump’s desk.

But NRA-ILA’s efforts are not finished merely because Trump was elected. Indeed, the work of coordinating with pro-gun members of Congress, vetting the records of political appointees and judicial candidates, and ensuring the administration is made aware of emerging threats to the Second Amendment is just beginning. There remain scores of deeply embedded anti-gun employees and officers throughout the sprawling federal bureaucracy. It will take constant vigilance and oversight to ensure they are not able to abuse their positions and authority to harm the right to keep and bear arms and to undermine Trump’s own objectives.

Trump has only four years to accomplish a very ambitious agenda of American First initiatives. Multiple groups will be competing for his attention and priority for their goals. It will take NRA-ILA’s sustained advocacy, and the support of our members, to keep Second Amendment issues front and center and to get pro-gun policies enacted into law.

After four years of working to expose and limit the damage of the Biden administration, it’s time for NRA-ILA to turn the page and begin the hard work of helping American regain its greatness.

TRENDING NOW
Defending the Indefensible: Court Strikes Illinois FOID Card Law

News  

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Defending the Indefensible: Court Strikes Illinois FOID Card Law

Lawmakers in Illinois have a long track record of irrational gun bans and restrictions based on the idea that public safety is best served by disarming criminals and law-abiding citizens alike, even if that means ...

Anti-Gun “Researchers” Face Harsh Reality

News  

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Anti-Gun “Researchers” Face Harsh Reality

The reelection of President Trump is already paying great dividends for the Second Amendment, even at this early stage.  Beyond the obvious jettisoning of the most anti-gun administration to ever occupy the White House, we saw ...

DNC Goes All-In on Gun Control

News  

Monday, February 10, 2025

DNC Goes All-In on Gun Control

A couple weeks ago, we wrote about anti-gun activist David Hogg campaigning to be a Vice Chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).  We (somewhat) jokingly endorsed his candidacy, as it would make abundantly clear that ...

Eighth Circuit Narrows Blanket Firearm Prohibition for “Unlawful User[s]” of Drugs

News  

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Eighth Circuit Narrows Blanket Firearm Prohibition for “Unlawful User[s]” of Drugs

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in the NRA-supported case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) continues to play a critical role in cases related to Second Amendment rights.

NRA Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Second Amendment Rights

News  

Second Amendment  

Friday, February 7, 2025

NRA Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Second Amendment Rights

Today, the White House announced a new Executive Order to protect and expand the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans. This is the first action taken by President Donald J. Trump to carry through ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Mutates into Permit-to-Purchase Scheme After Midnight

Friday, February 14, 2025

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Mutates into Permit-to-Purchase Scheme After Midnight

Senate Bill 25-003 was amended well past midnight to not only be a near all-encompassing semi-automatic ban, but now includes a permit-to-purchase scheme reminiscent of Illinois' FOID cards.

Legislation Introduced to Block Credit Card Gun Registry

News  

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Legislation Introduced to Block Credit Card Gun Registry

U.S. Representatives Riley Moore (R-WV-02), Richard Hudson (R-NC-09), and Andy Barr (R-KY-06) have introduced H.R. 1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act. This crucial legislation would prohibit credit card companies from tracking constitutionally protected purchases ...

Virginia: Gun Control Bills Pass General Assembly, Head to Youngkin's Desk

Friday, February 14, 2025

Virginia: Gun Control Bills Pass General Assembly, Head to Youngkin's Desk

It has been a busy week in Richmond, and not for the right reasons. The House has passed a slew of anti-gun legislation, and these bills will now be transmitted to Governor Youngkin's office

The Hearing Protection Act Introduced in the 119th Congress

News  

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

The Hearing Protection Act Introduced in the 119th Congress

U.S. Representative Ben Cline (R-VA-06) and U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) recently reintroduced the Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 404/S. 364) in the 119th Congress. This commonsense legislation will give gun owners and hunters the opportunity to ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Turned Permit-to-Purchase Passes Senate

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Turned Permit-to-Purchase Passes Senate

On Tuesday, February 18th, the Senate passed the amended Senate Bill 25-003, the near all-encompassing semi-automatic ban turned permit-to-purchase scheme, by a vote of 19-15 with bipartisan opposition.

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.