US Elections 2024: Donald Trump pledges to roll back Joe Biden's gun controls if elected, accepts gun lobby endorsement
Donald Trump pledged to unravel gun regulations put in place by Democratic President Joe Biden during a lengthy speech to the National Rifle Association on Saturday, during which he accepted the influential group's endorsement. The address to thousands of NRA members at the group's annual Leadership Forum in Dallas was light on new policy, but he used the platform to urge gun supporters to go to the polls in the November election. "We've got to get gun owners to vote," Trump said in his wide-ranging speech, which covered everything from his criminal trials to trade and immigration over more than 90 minutes.
"I think you're a rebellious bunch. But let's be rebellious and vote this time." The nation's top gun rights group has now endorsed Trump three times - in 2016, 2020 and 2024. The organization had cheered on Trump during his 2017-2021 term, as he appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court and took a series of steps sought by the gun lobby.
That included designating firearm shops as essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to stay open. During the speech, Trump repeated a pledge to fire the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, known as the ATF, on Day One of a potential administration. He accused that agency, which enforces U.S.
gun laws, of being heavy-handed with firearm owners and revoking licenses on frivolous grounds. Republicans largely oppose stricter gun laws, saying the right to bear arms is established in the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.
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