I think a lot people voted Trump as a defensive move against having a Democratic President. To be honest to look at whether Trump was worth when it comes to the 2nd you have to look at what has not happened.
1. The democrats did not get to replace Scalia and Ginsberg. They would have had at least two Supreme Court Justice picks..... Maybe 3. Because Trump won, Gorsuch and Kavenaugh were appointed. Like or hate what they’ve done they are better than anyone who Clinton would have put in. As far as the 2nd goes I think they are both solid. Unfortunately Roberts is the problem when it comes to the 2nd.
If Clinton had become President, she would have replaced Scalia swinging the courts left. There is a good chance that she could have gotten a strong anti Candidate even with a Republican Senate. If she had won, there is a good chance that the Senate would have also of swung left all but ensuring a strong anti candidate. I have little doubt in my mind that they would have gotten rid of the filibuster to get a Scalia replacement on the court. If Clinton had won there is an extremely good chance that the court would be taking 2nd amendment cases...... and it would not bode well for the 2nd.
That alone was worth not voting for a 3rd party candidate and voting for Trump to me. In addition there are over two hundred lower federal judge appointments that Hillary did not make. That is huge.
By the way, the idea that he has not done anything for the 2nd is straight up wrong What he has done for the 2nd can be measured by what has not happened. My explanation below.
Many say he has not done much for the 2nd. I disagree... once again based on defense. I am not happy with what he did on bumpstocks. But think about this. Las Vegas, Parkland, Orlando, Sutherland Springs all happened before February 2018 with Parkland being the last of those shootings. Hillary was chomping at the bits to take on the NRA and very outspoken against the 2nd. Can you imagine the overt assault on the 2nd we would have been dealing with the last couple of years if she had won.
I honestly think that the 2nd would have been her big battle the way Health Care was Obama’s. I think that she would have used the bully pulpit and all her political capital on that fight. They were all horrible tragedies committed by scumbags, that she would have exploited at the detriment of all the millions of non scumbag gun owners. If Hillary had won, the pressure on the 2nd would have been much more intense than it was with her using every press meeting, every media outlet to call for changes to the 2nd. In my mind there is no doubt that enough Republicans would have crumbled for major 2nd changes to take place.
Think about how Clinton would have used Parkland. Day after day, after day. I think it would have worked because it was such a tragedy. The scumbag who shot those kids would have given her the perfect opportunity to push for major anti legislation. Not just laws against bump stocks, but red flag laws, bans on certain types of gun, bans on certain size magazines, background checks for ammo, buybacks etc... I honestly think that if Trump had not won those things would have come to pass by now. There was a lot of pressure on the 2nd with Trump, it would have been off the scale with Hillary leading the charge if Trump was not elected. The conversations on this board would be completely different than they are.
Discussion about who is going to register/turn in their guns. People calling for her head. People wondering how the country got to this point.... but the country did not get to that point because of Trump. I don’t think I am being unrealistic with my speculation. You want to know Trumps positive impact on the 2nd? For most of his 4 years we have had a break/renaissance as far as guns go, especially after Sandy Hood and Obama*s last 4 years.
[b]His impact has been creating a buyers market where people could buy the guns they want at crazy low prices. I built an ar Pistol for well under $250’s. Respected guns like 9mm shield’s could be had for $200, .45 shields for $225 and bodyguards for $180 at one point. Ar’s became cheaper than ak’s. You could get complete ar’s for under $400 for most of his presidency. Ammo was plentiful and decently priced. Because Trump was elected, supporters of the 2nd could take the family and or friends out to the range, shoot a wide variety of guns with large quantities of ammo. The election of Trump gave supporters of the 2nd who knew things things would not last a chance to get guns they wanted and stock up on ammo without breaking the bank or constantly trying to find in stock items listed at insane prices. It took a pandemic with riots to change that environment. [b/]
That is how Trump has been pro 2nd, his election created an environment where the market has been good to supporters of the 2nd instead of an environment where there may have well been major legislation against the 2nd passed.
Would we have had the same environment under Hillary..... no not a chance in the world. Who has a better chance of returning America to that environment over the next 4 years, Biden/whichever democrat is running things or Trump? I hope the answer is obvious.
Seriously though what do people expect Trump to do as far as the 2nd goes? He is one branch of the government. He had a Republican Congress that was basically working against him. He needs them to send pro 2nd legislation to him. And the truth of the matter is the 2nd is not a priority to many in the house and senate. In the house it was not a priority to Paul Ryan. In the Senate there is nowhere near a filibuster proof majority to pass pro gun legislation. Even if that had been the issue that Trump decided to spend his political capital on and use his bully pulpit for, each shooting would have been a Tsunami against the battle. He chose other issues, (Trade) as much as I support the 2nd, I do not fault him for his choice. The Orlando shooting happened in June of 2016, that with the flow other shootings kept there from being a good time to focus on pro gun legislation.
Unfortunately Pro gun forces have a major hurdle. Every time something bad with guns happens And there is a mass shooting it gets plastered in the news. This gives an anti president firepower for the bully pulpit to press for anti changes.
Many here know guns have made a positive difference for many. But unfortunately it’s hard to quantify how many lives are saved or mass shooting are avoided when an armed citizen does make a difference. An armed citizens may shoot a criminal who intends to do them harm. That criminal may well go on to commit many other crimes and harm many others if they were not stopped, but you can’t quantify that. An armed citizen may protect themselves and in the process keep a mass shooting from happening, but without people dying it’s speculation and does not have the same headline power as mass shooter kills 20. Antis are given constant ammo to use because it is easy to see negatives effects of people with guns right in front of you. Even though there are positive effects that can be seen when citizens use guns to stop harm from occurring, a lot of the impact require abstract thinking.
I wish he had held out on bump stocks but he didn’t. I can either fixate on that, curse him, and cast a vote that favors Biden in some way or get over it. I got over it because in the end getting over it is what is best for the 2nd. I know the statement seems counterintuitive but if people don’t get over bumpstocks and vote Trump, what is coming for the 2nd is not pretty.
Has Trump been good for the 2nd, I say yes.
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