MILWAUKEE – At an event on concealed carry weapons Tuesday, just days after a gunman tried to kill their presidential candidate, Republicans stressed that their party would not change its stance on the Second Amendment.
Attendees of the hour-long session hosted by the U.S. Concealed Carry Association near the Republican National Convention were not allowed to carry concealed firearms because the session took place inside a Secret Service security checkpoint.
But those in attendance heard from Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita and three members of Congress about gun rights plans if Trump wins a clear victory in Congress and the White House in November’s elections.
“I think we’re going to see a continuation of support and defense of the Second Amendment, and where that really comes into play is the judiciary, the appointment of judges,” LaCivita said. “And that’s very clear, you know, one of the biggest impacts that President Trump had during his first term was transforming the judiciary.”
U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida told reporters after the incident that Republicans would “absolutely not” consider changing their support for Second Amendment rights. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was wounded by a gunman at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. One person was killed and two others were injured. The gunman was killed at the scene.
“I am 1,000% convinced that the Republican Party will always stand for the Constitution and the Second Amendment and our right to bear arms,” Cammack said. “A mentally disturbed individual who clearly needed help is not going to change the Constitution of the United States and our right as Americans to bear arms. No way.”
Cammack said it was “shocking” and “inappropriate” for a lawmaker to call for changes to gun laws after “tragic events” like mass shootings. She criticized Democrats for not making similar comments after the Trump shooting.
“What really shocked me is that right after tragic events, many politicians and experts come forward and say, ‘Now is the time to discuss gun control,’ when that is clearly … not appropriate,” she said.
“In this case, I’ve looked at the news stories of some of my colleagues and I don’t see the same calls for gun control in the wake of this incident,” Cammack added. “That makes me think there’s a bit of a disingenuous attitude to some of their comments.”
Hunters, gun owners
During the panel, Cammack said Republicans need to talk to the ten million hunters and gun owners across the country who are not registered to vote to make sure they change that and get to the polls in November.
“For us as Second Amendment advocates, this is a missed opportunity to make sure we actually do the work necessary to secure this victory. Because we can’t start talking about how to create national reciprocity in January if we don’t have the votes we need,” Cammack said.
A federal law requiring mutual recognition of concealed carry would likely require a state with stricter concealed carry laws to recognize a permit from another state.
USCCA writes on its website: “[r]Reciprocity simply means that a concealed carry permit or license is valid beyond the issuing state.”
“States can either have full reciprocity and recognize all permits from other states, or have partial reciprocity by entering into agreements with specific states,” the website says, referring to state-level laws. “The negotiation and recognition of these agreements depends on the states’ willingness to cooperate. Regardless of the agreement, carriers must follow the laws of the state in which they are transporting the goods, and these may differ from those of the issuing state.”
U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin said during the panel that gun rights advocates need to look closely at state and federal lawmakers because changes to gun laws are typically gradual, not comprehensive.
“I think we have to be careful as legislators protecting the Second Amendment and say, ‘No, wait a minute, this is a constitutionally guaranteed right,'” Fitzgerald said. “So you can continue to pass law after law with cute names that make people think it’s about safety. But we have to be careful.”
