The Truth About Trump Rant: "Hillary Wants to Abolish Second Amendment"

 

Great controversy still rages over GOP Presidential nominee Donald Trump and the meaning of his comments at a recent rally in Wilmington, North Carolina. Without any embellishment or connotation concerning meaning, let's look at the reality of the disputation.

Trump said ...

"Hillary wants to abolish -- essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, if she gets to pick, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know. But I tell you what, that will be a horrible day, if Hillary gets to put her judges in, right now we're tied."

This Hillary Clinton's stance on gun control ...

“Republicans, Democrats, gun owners and non-gun owners”–feel divided when “in reality, we’re not divided on [the issue of control. Americans know that we can respect the rights of responsible gun owners and enact commonsense gun reforms to keep our communities safe.”

Clinton is calling for a “national movement” to “stand up to the NRA” and lambasting Republicans for voting against gun control legislation.

“What is wrong with us, that we cannot stand up to the NRA and the gun lobby, and the gun manufacturers they represent? This is not just tragic. We don’t just need to pray for people. We need to act and we need to build a movement. It’s infuriating.”

Clinton has called for an array of gun control measures, including holding gun manufacturers liable for gun violence, closing a loophole that allows gun sales to proceed after three days if a background check is not completed in that time and taking administrative action to require background checks at guns shows and gun stores. This week, her campaign released an ad calling for gun control measures.

So, regardless of your interpretation of Trump's intentions for raising the possibility that gun rights
supporters could take matters into their own hands if Hillary is elected and appoints judges who favor stricter gun control measures, you must acknowledge that Donald has generated a great controversy that requires explaining exactly what he meant.

Most importantly, Donald Trump's intentions, whatever they were, are based on a lie. Hillary Clinton does not want to abolish the Second Amendment … not even “essentially.” This is an emotional appeal from a candidate behind in the polls who seeks to convince a bloc of voters to support him. Plain and simple, Trump's claim is a lie.

Does Hillary Clinton support new measures of gun control? Absolutely. But, in doing so, she does not want to divide America into two camps: the “Second Amendment people” and the Constitutional anarchists who “take away your guns.” This is a false dichotomy posited by Donald Trump that unjustly polarizes camps of intelligent gun owners.

Does Hillary Clinton stand against the rigid, no compromise policy of the National Rifle Association in an effort to stop gun violence? Of course. Remember, this is the group that after the attack on Newtown, which killed 20 children, put out a statement that was full of lies, accusing the White House’s gun task force of an “agenda to attack the Second Amendment” and of blaming “law-abiding gun owners” for the “acts of criminals and madmen.”

The present NRA represents first and foremost, the multibillion dollar gun industry. With tremendous financial backing, the NRA defends an extreme view – a view that encourages staunch resistance to even the most sensible regulatory and public safety efforts. Their apparent goal is to ensure the country is awash in as many guns as possible. Just consider Wayne La Pierre’s now infamous statement: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

Perhaps Donald Trump manufactured his falsehood about the Second Amendment from this NRA source. Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, said this in October, 2015 about Clinton's support of gun control measures:"This validates what the NRA has said all along. The real goal of gun control supporters is gun confiscation. Hillary Clinton's extreme views are completely out of touch with the American people."

What did Trump imply in his North Carolina comments? Was it supposed to be a sick joke, a threat against Hillary Clinton, or some kind of “wink, wink” moment full of reckless implications that might later be explained away? I have my own opinions, but let's stick with the facts.

1. Donald Trump told a lie that generated a controversy.
   
   
2. All Americans that support the Constitution, not just NRA advocates, are “Second Amendment people” – that includes Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives.
   
   
3. Trump's assumption of a President Clinton being blocked from selecting Supreme Court judges by gun supporters is veiled, aggressive division, to say the least.
   

You know, many of us at first thought Donald Trump was an amusing novelty. Then, we marveled at how many people began to respect his loose comments and derision. And finally, we realized that the real Trump was an ambitious politician, that he was a master manipulator, that he was a consummate  liar, and that he was a dangerous narcissist coveting power and control at the expense of anyone not sharing his views.