Donald Trump doesn’t want congressional Republicans to “worry” about the National Rifle Association when it comes to strengthening our gun laws. “They wanna do it. These are great people,” he says. Oh yeah? The NRA wants to do gun legislation? Here’s what happened in 2013, the last time there was a major attempt to do just that:
Despite the Sandy Hook tragedy, the NRA’s chief lobbyists Chris Cox, David Lehman and James Baker, ultimately opposed the final package — even after they scored so many concessions in the legislation that a number of gun show owners, among the NRA’s fiercest allies, privately urged the gun lobby to close the deal.
Thanks to the NRA’s lobbying efforts, the Manchin-Toomey bill, which had originated as a gun safety measure, ended up offering more sweeteners than burdensome regulations to the gun industry, with some gun show operators particularly enthused about it. That’s according to interviews with representatives and aides involved in the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The concessions the NRA won included: Allowing interstate handgun sales from licensed dealers with a background check; allowing sportsmen traveling from one state to another to legally transport their firearms to the state where they are hunting; removing restrictions on dealer-to-dealer sales at out-of-state gun shows; and making it easier to purchase a firearm in another state.
Concession concession concession concession NOPE!
The leaders of the NRA may be Trump-style “great people,” but they for sure don’t wanna do anything that looks like a gun law, no matter how many murdered children’s families or traumatized survivors are calling for it.