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“The NRA supports the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans to purchase and use firearms,” the organization told Fox News Digital.
“The NRA does not, and will not, support any policy proposals that implement sweeping gun bans that arbitrarily strip law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process,” they added.
Despite the tough words, many in the gun community remain skeptical. They’ve seen the NRA make compromises in the past and are waiting to see if this time will be any different.
Why Bondi Raises Red Flags
For longtime Second Amendment advocates, Pam Bondi is a name that already carries baggage. Back in 2012, as Florida’s Attorney General, she oversaw the department during the prosecution of George Zimmerman — a case many conservatives believed was a clear-cut example of self-defense.
Her current DOJ now appears to be examining legal avenues that could involve the federal firearms regulatory agency. To activists, this is all too familiar: another Republican administration flirting with gun control while pretending to stand with gun owners.
Trump’s Complicated History with Gun Rights
This controversy highlights a bigger issue for Trump. His relationship with the gun rights community has always been shaky.
When the Parkland tragedy struck in 2018, Trump publicly suggested raising the age to buy rifles to 21. He even floated the idea of “taking the guns first, [and going] through due process second.” After backlash, he walked those comments back — but the damage stuck.
Trump also flirted with “strong background checks” after mass shootings in El Paso and elsewhere. Conservative groups had to apply massive pressure just to keep him from cutting a deal with Democrats.
And if you look even further back, the contradictions are even sharper. In his 2000 book The America We Deserve, Trump wrote:
“I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I also support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun.”
By 2015, his book Crippled America painted a different picture, arguing waiting periods accomplished little while piling on more government regulation.
Why This Could Blow Up in Trump’s Face
For Trump’s base, this is about more than policy. It’s about trust. His supporters didn’t just want another politician — they wanted a President who would draw a hard line against every attempt to weaken the Second Amendment.
Now, with whispers that his own DOJ is floating restrictions, many feel betrayed. These voters already remember his wobbly record from his first term. They remember the hedging, the comments he had to walk back, and the pressure campaigns required to keep him from caving.
This time, they’re not waiting quietly. They’re already signaling they won’t give him the benefit of the doubt. They’re demanding a clear and immediate rejection of these proposals.
At a moment when Trump should be uniting his coalition and solidifying his base, he may instead be alienating his most loyal backers. If these talks continue, they could trigger a full-blown rebellion among the very people who care most about defending the Second Amendment.
The message from grassroots gun owners is simple: shut this down now. The problem isn’t the firearms, and they won’t tolerate a President — even Trump — who even entertains that narrative.
