Dem
51
GOP
49
You might be wondering if Donald Trump's brush with death last Saturday changed his position on gun control. Rest assured, it did not. He still opposes any limits on gun purchases, such as prohibiting people under 21 or 25 or some other age from buying military weapons. Such a limit wouldn't have saved him from the assassination attempt, since the shooter's father, not the shooter, bought the assault rifle. Nevertheless, such a ban could prevent other deaths since mass shooters are often young.
At an event hosted by the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, Chris LaCivita, a top aide to Trump and chief operating officer of the RNC, said: "We'll see a continuation of supporting and defending the Second Amendment, and really where that comes into play is, you know, the judiciary." In other words, if Trump wins and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas retire, expect Trump to nominate gun-loving replacements. Maybe he could let half a dozen potential justices compete at target shooting run by the NRA, with the ones with the highest scores being nominated. Think of the televised drama at the shooting match. LaCivita also said that he carries a concealed weapon with him when he is not with Trump. That way, if confronted with a shooter using an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle 450 feet away, he could shoot back with his little pistol.
Some Republicans say that the problem is mental health, but they are generally not interested in doing anything to help people with mental health problems. Many of them oppose background checks, which would at least make it more difficult for people with mental health problems to buy weapons, especially military-style assault rifles.
So far, there is little public evidence that the attempt on Trump's life was politically motivated. So to some extent, this attempt is more like a mass shooting, where a disturbed person was angry with the world or wanted to go down in a blaze of attention, rather than a political assassination. Between 1966 and 2019, most mass shootings were carried out by white men who bought the gun themselves legally, the only major exception being school shootings, where the shooter often used a gun purchased by a family member. Military-style semi-automatic weapons are not needed for hunting deer or home defense. There is no legitimate reason for individuals not in the military or law enforcement to have an AR-15. But even after this incident, Trump does not want to place any limits on gun purchases by anyone. (V)