Trump Announces His Second Official Position: Support for Nationwide Concealed-Carry
Until today, Donald Trump’s campaign website had a “positions” page that outlined his stance on just a single issue: immigration. (Deport every undocumented person and build a wall along the border with Mexico.) Now he’s got a second position, on gun control. Congratulations, Donald! Chugging right along.
In a 1,105 word policy paper released today, Trump claims support for nationwide concealed-carry permits, an end to bans on certain types of guns and magazines, and—presumably in response to the Chattanooga shooting in July—the arming of employees at military recruiting centers.
Trump also makes a vague commitment to overhauling “our mental health system” so that mass shooters are flagged and treated before they act. His support for mental health reform appears not to stem from an interest in protecting potential victims so much as it does from preventing lawful gun-owners from catching flak. “And why does this matter to law-abiding gun owners?” he writes. “Once again, because they get blamed by anti-gun politicians, gun control groups and the media for the acts of deranged madmen.”
Trump’s allegiances on gun control have changed over the years, much like they have on nearly every other issue. In his 2000 book The America We Deserve, the candidate wrote in support of bans on “assault weapons”—exactly the kinds of bans he’s decrying now. “I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun. With today’s Internet technology we should be able to tell within 72-hours if a potential gun owner has a record,” he wrote.
Two whole positions are better than one, but Trump’s platform as a candidate remains pretty incoherent. Read Gawker’s investigation into what the hell he actually stands for here.