From Instapundit, I learn that Donald Trump has come out strongly in favor of gun rights. Nationwide concealed carry, no mag bans or “assault weapon” bans, and an acknowledgement that the problem is criminals and mental health, not “bad” guns.
Now, there are many people who think that Trump is a self-promoting TV star with no real principles, who says whatever he needs to to drive up his poll numbers. I suspect these people are right. On the flip side, if you were to ask me how that made him different from the average Republican…I’m not sure I could tell you.
But let us recall that George W. Bush, who was generally considered good on gun issues, in fact paid lip service to a huge variety of gun control laws. He may not have meant it (most of us suspected at the time that he didn’t), but he did say it. And he said the wrong things.
Trump may not mean it either, but at least he’s saying the right things instead of the wrong things. That is progress for the gun rights movement, and let us hope it spells doom for any squishy RINOs who might be tempted to try to straddle the issue.
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