Supporters of the Second Amendment will have a strong ally in the White House with President-elect Donald Trump following years of pressure from the Biden administration, firearms rights advocates say.
Organizations including the Gun Owners of America and the National Rifle Association tell Fox News Digital they are looking forward to working with Trump when he returns to the White House in January, despite gun control groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety vowing to stand strong against the president-elect’s “extremist agenda.”
“I think the Second Amendment was on the ballot and the Second Amendment won. The American people clearly elected a pro-gun presidential ticket,” Aidan Johnston, the director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, told Fox News Digital.
“With President-elect Trump, gun owners across the country will once again have a strong advocate for their Second Amendment rights in the White House,” said Randy Kozuch, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.
US JUDGE TOSSES ILLINOIS’ BAN ON SEMIAUTOMATIC WEAPONS, GOVERNOR PLEDGES SWIFT APPEAL
Former President Donald Trump speaks during the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum at the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting on May 18 in Dallas. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Johnston said the Second Amendment has been “under assault for the last four years” of the Biden administration. He referenced measures including the crackdown on homemade firearm kits and the closures of gun stores under the administration’s “so-called zero tolerance policy,” which the White House says is aimed at revoking federal licenses for “rogue gun dealers violating our laws.”
“President Trump promised on the campaign trail that he would sign national concealed carry reciprocity. And so I think that Congress has got to deliver that for the president,” Johnston said. “If you have a concealed carry license, it should be valid in all 50 states, just like your driver’s license.”
“The American people have clearly given the president a mandate. He was elected on a pro-Second Amendment platform and Congress needs to deliver for the American people,” Johnston added.
NEW YORK GUN CONTROL REGIME HANDED DEFEAT IN COURT
President Biden during the Everytown for Gun Safety “Gun Sense University” conference in Washington, D.C., on June 11. (Ken Cedeno/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Kozuch told Fox News Digital in a statement that when Trump “addressed NRA members last May, [he] pledged to roll back every attack from the Biden-Harris Administration on law-abiding gun owners and install an ATF Director who respects the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.”
“We look forward to continuing our work with President Trump and the next Congress to enact pro-Second Amendment policies that protect Americans’ ability to defend themselves and their loved ones,” Kozuch continued.
In the wake of Trump’s election, Everytown for Gun Safety released a statement saying, “the gun safety movement has faced countless setbacks but when it comes to the number one killer of kids, nothing will stand in our way.”
The group added, “Make no mistake: Trump’s extremist agenda is a danger for our nation, but it means we’ll double down on our efforts to protect our communities and continue to make progress, just like we did in 2016.”
President-elect Donald Trump greets Vice President-elect JD Vance at an election night watch party in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP/Evan Vucci)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence also said, “We have weathered storms before, and we will do so again. Even during Trump’s first presidency, we preserved critical gun safety measures and held the line in our fight against the gun lobby.”