After Trump’s second close call, GOP should have second thoughts about guns | Opinion

After a 20-year-old gunman fired on former President Donald Trump at a July rally in Pennsylvania, there was much speculation about the shooter’s motives, lapses by the U.S. Secret Service and how close the bullet that grazed Trump’s ear had come to being a fatal shot.

But there wasn’t much discussion about doing something about guns, especially the AR-15-style rifle used by the Pennsylvania gunman and frequently used in mass shootings.

Now another gunman with a similar weapon has been arrested after apparently planning to shoot Trump as the former president played golf on Sunday in West Palm Beach, Fla.

After Sandy Hook, we know there is apparently no level of gun violence that will make Republican politicians question their devotion to the illusion that more guns create more safety. But now even Trump may be wondering whether more guns actually create more danger.

In July, a bullet came less than an inch from seriously wounding or killing him. A supporter at that rally was killed. Two others were wounded. Now, Trump knows that another heavily-armed gunman was waiting for him along the edge of the Trump International Golf Club.

The Washington Post reported that the weapon in Florida appears not to be an AK-47 style rifle, as originally reported, but a semi automatic SKS-type rifle that has similar qualities. “The SKS is a mainstay at shops and gun shows in the United States because they are relatively cheap and fire plentiful ammunition,” the Post said.

Somewhere along the line, prodded by generous contributions from the National Rifle Association (NRA), the Republican Party became dedicated to the insane idea that freedom means almost every adult should be able to have a machine gun.

That wasn’t always the case. Assault weapons and large-capacity magazines were banned in the U..S. in 1994, but the ban expired after 10 years. Efforts to reimpose that sanity have been unsuccessful, despite evidence that the ban helped to reduce shootings involving assault weapons.

Just months before Trump was grazed in Pennsylvania, some state lawmakers there had proposed a ban on assault-weapons. The legislation never got a vote. After the Trump rally shooting, the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Ben Sanchez, told the Associated Press, “Sadly, we’ll probably be stuck with our similar gun laws, which are not strong enough.”

As president, Trump pandered to the NRA and weakened some gun laws. In May, he told a meeting of the NRA that if Democratic President Joe Biden “gets four more years they are coming for your guns, 100% certain. Crooked Joe has a 40-year-record of trying to rip firearms out of the hands of law-abiding citizens.”

Gun control isn’t about ripping firearms out of the hands of law-abiding citizens. It’s about ensuring that firearms – especially assault weapons – don’t get into the wrong hands.

It’s sensible to have background checks on gun purchases, to have “red flag laws” that take guns from the mentally unstable and to require gun safety measures that keep children from picking up a loaded gun. And it’s crazy to have millions of assault weapons floating around the U.S.

The possible assassination attempt on Trump in Florida will bring another round of questioning of the Secret Service. Trump is claiming is claiming it’s a result of “inflammatory language” from Democrats.

But what it’s really about is a nation awash in guns and politically powerless to stop the consequences, whether it be at a political rally, or on a golf course, or on city streets across America.

Changing that should start with curbing the most obvious threat, assault weapons.

After the first attempt on Trump, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry called on state lawmakers and Congress to again ban the weapons.

Henry told the Associated Press, “When one of the most secure and protected individuals on the planet — a former United States President — is not immune from dangers presented by the prevalence and accessibility of high-capacity, long-range assault weapons, we must react and reexamine our collective indifference to addressing this issue.”

A second close call for Trump doubles Henry’s point.

This story was originally published September 16, 2024 at 5:16 PM with the headline "After Trump’s second close call, GOP should have second thoughts about guns | Opinion."