By Dave Workman
In what can best be described as the beginning of an effort to erase all vestiges of Joe Biden’s Draconian gun control agenda, President Donald Trump on Friday issued a sweeping executive order for the Attorney General to scrutinize Biden’s actions on guns and gun rights, and develop a proposed “plan of action to protect the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.”
The announcement was greeted with cheers from major gun rights organizations.
In a joint statement from the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, both groups hailed the action.
“We are delighted that President Trump is following through on his promises to gun owners during the campaign,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “We are particularly grateful to see he is directing the Attorney General to examine all orders, regulations and other actions taken by the Biden administration affecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens during Joe Biden’s entire term in office.”
“It is reassuring that after four long years of the executive branch assaulting our Second Amendment rights that the Trump Administration is investigating avenues to undo the damage inflicted by the prior administration,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “We look forward to seeing tangible results benefiting gun owners and the individual liberty of every American.”
Likewise, Doug Hamlin, executive vice president and CEO of the National Rifle Association praised the president’s order.
“Promises made to law-abiding gun owners are being kept by President Donald J. Trump,” Hamlin said in a prepared statement. “NRA members were instrumental, turning out in record numbers to secure his victory, and he is proving worthy of their votes, faith, and confidence in his first days in office.”
“After a long four years, law-abiding gun owners no longer have to worry about being the target of an anti-gun radical administration,” added John Commerford, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA). “NRA looks forward to the advances and restoration of our rights that will come from President Trump’s respect for the Constitution.”
Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president for Government and Public Affairs, and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation also hailed the announcement.
“The announcement this evening by President Donald Trump that he is taking swift and thorough actions to protect not just the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans, but also the industry that provides the means to exercise that sacred right, is welcomed news and should be celebrated by all gun owners,” Keane stated. “For the past four years, the previous president and his administration attacked law-abiding gun owners and the lawful firearm industry at every opportunity, crippling small businesses and turning law-abiding Americans into criminals overnight, all while trampling on Constitutional rights and ignoring laws passed by Congress. No more – gone are those days. President Trump’s welcomed Executive Order means those exercising their rights to keep and bear arms will be able to continue protecting their loved ones, homes and property and do so knowing the President of the United States has their back.
Thank you, President Trump. The firearm industry looks forward to working with you to keep Americans safe, while at the same time honoring and protecting the U.S. Constitution.”
President Trump’s order covers lots of ground. It begins with Trump’s powerful recognition that, “The Second Amendment is an indispensable safeguard of security and liberty. It has preserved the right of the American people to protect ourselves, our families, and our freedoms since the founding of our great Nation. Because it is foundational to maintaining all other rights held by Americans, the right to keep and bear arms must not be infringed.”
Trump’s order lays out a “Plan of Action” which tasks Attorney General Pam Bondi to “examine all orders, regulations, guidance, plans, international agreements, and other actions of executive departments and agencies (agencies) to assess any ongoing infringements of the Second Amendment rights of our citizens, and present a proposed plan of action to the President, through the Domestic Policy Advisor, to protect the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.”
“In developing such proposed plan of action,” the order states, “the Attorney General shall review, at a minimum:
(i) All Presidential and agencies’ actions from January 2021 through January 2025 that purport to promote safety but may have impinged on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens;
(ii) Rules promulgated by the Department of Justice, including by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, from January 2021 through January 2025 pertaining to firearms and/or Federal firearms licensees;
(iii) Agencies’ plans, orders, and actions regarding the so-called “enhanced regulatory enforcement policy” pertaining to firearms and/or Federal firearms licensees;
(iv) Reports and related documents issued by the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention;
(v) The positions taken by the United States in any and all ongoing and potential litigation that affects or could affect the ability of Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights;
(vi) Agencies’ classifications of firearms and ammunition; and
(vii) The processing of applications to make, manufacture, transfer, or export firearms.”
It is a staggering reversal of the previous administration’s crusade against guns and the people who own them.
Trump’s executive order covers all actions during the period from January 2021 through January 2025 pertaining to firearms and/or federal firearms licensees. The order focuses on rules promulgated by the Justice Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives during that time period, and also directs the Attorney General to review reports and related documents issued by the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which President Trump abolished when he took office.
CCRKBA’s Gottlieb was blunt in his assessment.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris waged war on American gun owners and the Second Amendment for four long years,” Gottlieb recalled, “treating the right to keep and bear arms like a government-regulated privilege. That ended January 20, and we are looking ahead to actions by the Trump administration which will reverse Biden’s policies and correct the harm he has done.”
Workman is editor-in-chief of TheGunMag.com
