Comparing Presidential Candidates by Steve Getman

Rarely in American history – perhaps last in 1860 when Lincoln was elected – has there been such a wide divide between the two major parties and their candidates for President.  Yesterday we compared the Vice-Presidential candidates and today we present the Presidential candidates’ positions on the 2^nd Amendment.

President Donald Trump, a Republican, has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), with that group saying he delivered on his promise to protect Second Amendment rights.  Among the reasons:

• Trump announced his “un-signing” of the anti-gun United Nations Arms Trade Treaty appeared at the NRA-ILA Annual Leadership Forum;
• He designated gun businesses to be “critical infrastructure” during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to remain open in many areas;
• Trump loosened regulations on the export of firearms and the online publication of technical information about guns;
•  He supported right-to-carry reciprocity;
• Trump has worked to expand millions of acres of public access to law-biding gun owners and to reverse bans on traditional ammunition;
• After Democrats introduced federal legislation in 2018 to expand background checks and more tightly regulate gun sales and transfers, he threatened to veto the measures;
• Perhaps, most importantly, the President has appointed a large number of conservative federal judges.  By the end of July 2020, the President had appointed 201 federal judges.  These appointments, some analysts say, have already given a boost to legal challenges to gun control laws.

Biden’s record on gun control covers 47 years, as a Presidential candidate, as Vice President and as a member of the U.S. Senate.  His record has been replete with anti-gun measures, earning him an “F” from NRA:

• Biden pushed the Brady Bill and brags he was the person who got it passed;
• He supported (and supports) the so-called “assault weapons ban;”
• Biden supported (and supports) closing the so-called “gun show loophole;”
• He voted against prohibiting frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers for gun violence;
• Biden was asked by President Obama to head up the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force;
• Biden has endorsed federal handgun bans and gun-owner licensing;
• He supports banning online sales of weapons and ammunition and requiring background checks for people buying gun kits or 3D printer codes for guns;
• Biden has referred to 9 mm pistols as “military style weapons;”
• During a 2019 interview with CNN, Biden explicitly said his administration would support gun confiscation.

The ratings for 2^nd Amendment support seems fairly clear.  Trump gets and A and Biden gets an F.

Note: Thanks to Steve Getman for researching these facts.