Trump pledges to be NRA’s ‘loyal friend’ ahead of 2024

Former President Trump pledged to be the National Rifle Association’s “loyal friend” at its annual conference on Friday ahead of the 2024 presidential election. 

Trump said during remarks at the Indianapolis event that he “saved” the Second Amendment to the Constitution while serving as president and will continue to do so for a long time. He added that he was the “most pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment” president to ever serve. 

“With your support, in 2024, I will be your loyal friend and fearless champion once again as the 47^th president of the United States,” he said. 

Trump said federal legislation must be passed to affirm people’s right to self-defense and implement penalties for “prosecutorial abuse.” 

He said as president, he would ask Congress to send him a bill to sign to establish a national concealed carry “reciprocity” law, meaning that states would be required to recognize concealed carry permits approved in another state even if their state did not issue an individual a permit to carry. 

A bill to establish this passed the House in 2017 but did not advance in the Senate. 

“Just like your driver’s license or your marriage license, your Second Amendment must apply across state lines,” Trump said. 

He claimed that “gun-grabbing bureaucrats” are “persecuting” gun owners and manufacturers daily. He said he wants to focus on prosecuting “violent criminals” instead. 

“We have to go after them and stop worrying about somebody that will never hurt anybody with a gun, just wants the gun for protection or whatever,” he added.

Trump said people’s hearts were “shattered” by the shooting at the private Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tenn., that caused the deaths of three students and three staff members. He blamed Democrats for the continued incidents of school shootings, accusing them of holding “commonsense school safety measures hostage” to support their “radical gun-control agenda.” 

He also argued that gun control measures in “virtually all cases” would not prevent attacks from attempted shooters. 

Research has been somewhat mixed on whether gun control legislation would prevent the prominent mass shootings like the one in Nashville. Studies have shown that while gun legislation might not prevent attempted mass shooters from taking any action, it could lessen their severity and reduce gun violence overall. 

Trump said the issue is not a “gun problem” but one of mental health and culture. 

He said those who commit these mass shootings need to know that within seconds of them opening fire, they will face “certain death,” which he said would cause them to not commit the attack. 

He further claimed that as president he would create a new tax credit to reimburse teachers for the cost of concealed firearm training from “highly qualified experts.” He said only 5 percent of teachers being voluntarily armed would create “effective deterrence” and the school shootings “problem would cease to exist.” 

Trump said $12 billion could fund each school having armed security guards at the entrance and arming every teacher willing to carry a firearm. He said they would need to undergo “vigorous training” but would “do better than anybody there.” 

“If we can send $120 billion to Ukraine, then we can afford one tenth of that amount to protect American children in American schools,” he added.