President Donald Trump recently took to Twitter, as he does, to address the topic of background checks in relation to gun control amidst the recent mass shootings.
While the president has constantly received criticism from Liberals about his policies, he usually gets much praise from Conservatives. However, this was not the case after his recent comments about implementing meaningful background checks for those individuals who have a desire to purchase a firearm.
President Trump believes the National Rifle Association (NRA) will be cooperative in coming to an agreement regarding background checks. However, NRA head Wayne LaPierre does not think that is the case. LaPierre said in a statement regarding more intensive background checks, “would make millions of law-abiding Americans less safe and less able to defend themselves and their loved ones.”
The left has resorted to expressing their desire for more gun control after mass shootings on numerous occasions including the Parkland shooting and the Las Vegas shooting. President Trump has opposed the more restrictive gun control laws that Liberals want, but he now feels that something has to give.
Conservatives have finally reached their limit with what the president can do before he does not have their full support. With gun rights being one of the most important issues to Conservatives, this should come as no surprise.
Conservative citizens and politicians have backed up gun rights after mass shootings and pointed to the Second Amendment to make their case. Gun right supporters make the claim that the gun is not the problem and taking away guns only takes away American citizen’s way of protecting themselves and their families. Second Amendment supporters feel that a criminal will get their hands on a gun to commit these cowardly crimes regardless of the law.
Former United States’ President Barack Obama tweeted his thoughts about the gun control debate after the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio. He feels these crimes will continue to happen unless public officials are held accountable for changing gun laws.
While the president has not mentioned stripping away guns from citizens, prohibiting someone from obtaining a firearm could be the beginning of taking away the right to bear arms according to the Right. President Trump mentioned keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, a dangerous action to take. This would be a bad idea in terms of not all of the mentally ill have issues that would lead them to take someone’s life. A person with OCD, Bipolar Disorder, and Depression are not among those one would expect to be dangerous if they had a firearm. Because of this, conservatives feel this could infringe on a person’s right to bear arms.
There is no perfect solution to the gun control debate. Each side has their argument and laws are not likely to get passed in support of gun control with the Republicans (anti gun control) holding the majority in the Senate.