By: Anthony Morelli
This is going to be a major decision for Donald Trump.
Sen. Mike Lee put him on the spot with an important challenge.
And Trump will have to decide what to do about the Second Amendment.
Now that Donald Trump is president, he is going to have to decide what approach to take to the Second Amendment.
He is going to be receiving a lot of pressure from all sides, including from leftists who want to pressure him to cave on the Second Amendment and pass gun control.
These anti-gun activists might think they have a shot at success by cozying up to Trump, but Sen. Mike Lee is trying to preempt their efforts and get to Trump first.
He has introduced a bill to expand Second Amendment freedoms by deregulating firearm suppressors, and he is hoping this bill spurs Trump to take action.
For his part, Trump did make a lot of promises to gun owners during his campaign, and many expect him to be better on guns than he was in his first term.
But no one can know for sure until he takes action, and Mike Lee is trying to make that happen.
According to The Truth About Guns, “Republicans in Congress are making another effort to deregulate firearm suppressors, devices designed to protect shooters’ hearing, which other civilized countries have not only permitted but encouraged for years.
“Introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the ‘Silencers Help Us Save Hearing Act,’ aka SHUSH Act, would change current law and treat silencers the same as other firearms accessories.
“Senate cosponsors of the SHUSH Act include Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Pete Rickets of Nebraska, Roger Marshall of Kansas and John Curtis of Utah. The measure is being supported by the NRA, the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR), GOA and the NSSF.”
That represents a very wide cross-section of conservative and moderate senators, as well as both conservative and moderate gun organizations.
But ultimately the endorsement that will matter the most is Donald Trump’s, and it remains to be seen if he’ll get behind this bill.
The article continues, “While Rep. Lee pushes his SHUSH Act, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, has introduced the Hearing Protection Act, S. 364, in the U.S. Senate. The act would remove firearm suppressors from the list of definitions under the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA) so purchasers would only have to undergo the same background check as when purchasing a firearm.”
Lee’s bill seems to address the issue in a more direct way and with better language.
But the real key is getting Trump behind it, and that is where gun owners have an opportunity to push him in the right direction.
Trump is very serious about keeping his base happy, and he received a lot of votes from gun owners all across the country.
If those gun owners make it clear to him that they’re expecting him to protect the Second Amendment and support Lee’s bill, he is far more likely to do so.