The National Rifle Association (NRA) praised voters Wednesday for rallying behind a “pro-gun president” and electing Donald Trump.
“Voters sent a loud and clear message that our gun rights are not for sale,” said Chris Cox, the NRA’s top lobbyist, in a statement. “In the face of threats against their constitutional freedoms, NRA members and Second Amendment supporters rallied to elect a pro-gun president.”
{mosads}Trump’s election was a victory for the gun rights lobby, which had endorsed him early. The group also offered him strong support even as he weathered controversies and other Republicans expressed their doubts.
His victory was also a stinging defeat for gun control groups, who saw Democrat Hillary Clinton as the first presidential candidate to campaign strongly on their issues. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other pro-gun control advocates spent big on the election.
But the NRA said the election had shown the strength of gun owners.
“Voters sent a loud and clear message that our gun rights are not for sale,” the group said.
“Trump’s victory repudiates the assertion by gun control advocates that the political calculus regarding the Second Amendment has changed,” the group added. “A special thank-you to NRA members and supporters who made the difference in this important election. Freedom scored another victory because of your efforts.”
Gun-control groups vowed to press ahead for tougher gun laws.
Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said they would fight “the vision [Trump] described on the campaign trail” that problems can be “solved with bullets instead of words.”
“Although we are disappointed that a candidate who ran his campaign on a message of hate, violence, intimidation, and fear will be the next president of the United States, the American people have spoken,” Gross continued.
“I only hope President-elect Trump recognizes that nine out of 10 Americans, regardless of who they supported for president, want to create a safer America by expanding Brady background checks to every gun sale,” he added.
“Trump’s election isn’t the end of this fight.”
Bloomberg’s gun control group, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Americans for Responsible Solutions, led by former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), who survived a mass shooting, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Currently, background checks are conducted before most gun sales, but there is a loophole that allows some people to purchase firearms online or at gun shows without safety procedures in place.
Congress voted against expanding background checks to all gun sales earlier this year following the Orlando massacre, and again in 2013 following the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting.
While the issue has divided lawmakers mostly along party lines, according to gun control groups, the majority of voters who identify as Democrats, Republicans, and even NRA members, support measures that would expand background checks.