Donald Trumps radical new proposal on guns
By Greg Sargent | Friday, January 08, 2015 | washingtonpost.com
Even as President Obama was holding a CNN town hall last night calling for gun reforms, Donald Trump the man who hopes to succeed him in the White House was promising a crowd at a Vermont rally that he would end gun free zones at schools.
Make no mistake, this is another very important Trumpian moment. It raises the bar once again for Trumps GOP rivals for the nomination.
Thats because, if you take Trumps words at face value, he is not simply proposing to repeal the federal law that created gun free zones at schools. His comments suggest he would also make it illegal for states to pass their own laws outlawing guns in school zones if they so choose.
You know what a gun free zone is to sickos? Thats bait! Trump said. He continued:
I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools, and you have to and on military bases. My first day, it gets signed, okay? My first day. Theres no more gun-free zones.
The key there is no more gun free zones. Current federal law makes it unlawful for anyone to knowingly possess a firearm in an area that he or she knows or has reasonable cause to believe is a school zone. There are some exemptions the law, for instance, allows states to exempt people with state concealed carry permits, and some states have done this. Meanwhile, a number of states have passed their own laws containing various restrictions on guns in schools and colleges.
But taking Trumps words at their plain meaning no more gun free zones he would not only repeal the federal law, but he also would apparently preclude states from setting their own policies when it comes to guns on school grounds, according to Arkadi Gerney, an expert on gun law at the Center for American Progress.
He seems to say that he would override state and local laws that prevent people from carrying guns into schools, notwithstanding what states say, Gerney tells me. This would be a huge federal overreach. Its saying the federal government can tell states they cannot prohibit guns in schools.
Gerney notes that this would be similar to proposals for national concealed carry reciprocity, a longtime goal of gun rights groups, which would use federal power to require states to honor concealed carry permits issued to people in other states who bring their guns across state lines. Trump has already endorsed this idea, as have most Republicans (and some Democrats).
But this would apply to guns in schools. It will be interesting to see what his GOP rivals have to say about this particularly the more moderate ones, such as Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush.
Now, its perfectly possible that Trump doesnt intend to preclude states from passing their own gun bans for school zones. Trump has previously had to clarify proposals he spouted at rallies, such as when he proposed a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the U.S. then clarified he meant only non-citizens. And in the case of this new gun proposal, Jenna Johnson asked the Trump campaign for general clarification of his comments, but didnt get an answer.
This one deserves more attention.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blog...8/donald-trumps-radical-new-proposal-on-guns/
By Greg Sargent | Friday, January 08, 2015 | washingtonpost.com
Even as President Obama was holding a CNN town hall last night calling for gun reforms, Donald Trump the man who hopes to succeed him in the White House was promising a crowd at a Vermont rally that he would end gun free zones at schools.
Make no mistake, this is another very important Trumpian moment. It raises the bar once again for Trumps GOP rivals for the nomination.
Thats because, if you take Trumps words at face value, he is not simply proposing to repeal the federal law that created gun free zones at schools. His comments suggest he would also make it illegal for states to pass their own laws outlawing guns in school zones if they so choose.
You know what a gun free zone is to sickos? Thats bait! Trump said. He continued:
I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools, and you have to and on military bases. My first day, it gets signed, okay? My first day. Theres no more gun-free zones.
The key there is no more gun free zones. Current federal law makes it unlawful for anyone to knowingly possess a firearm in an area that he or she knows or has reasonable cause to believe is a school zone. There are some exemptions the law, for instance, allows states to exempt people with state concealed carry permits, and some states have done this. Meanwhile, a number of states have passed their own laws containing various restrictions on guns in schools and colleges.
But taking Trumps words at their plain meaning no more gun free zones he would not only repeal the federal law, but he also would apparently preclude states from setting their own policies when it comes to guns on school grounds, according to Arkadi Gerney, an expert on gun law at the Center for American Progress.
He seems to say that he would override state and local laws that prevent people from carrying guns into schools, notwithstanding what states say, Gerney tells me. This would be a huge federal overreach. Its saying the federal government can tell states they cannot prohibit guns in schools.
Gerney notes that this would be similar to proposals for national concealed carry reciprocity, a longtime goal of gun rights groups, which would use federal power to require states to honor concealed carry permits issued to people in other states who bring their guns across state lines. Trump has already endorsed this idea, as have most Republicans (and some Democrats).
But this would apply to guns in schools. It will be interesting to see what his GOP rivals have to say about this particularly the more moderate ones, such as Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush.
Now, its perfectly possible that Trump doesnt intend to preclude states from passing their own gun bans for school zones. Trump has previously had to clarify proposals he spouted at rallies, such as when he proposed a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the U.S. then clarified he meant only non-citizens. And in the case of this new gun proposal, Jenna Johnson asked the Trump campaign for general clarification of his comments, but didnt get an answer.
This one deserves more attention.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blog...8/donald-trumps-radical-new-proposal-on-guns/
