The National Rifle
Association threw its weight Friday behind Donald Trump, as the presumptive
Republican presidential nominee personally assured the group’s members he would
protect Second Amendment rights if elected – and claimed that likely Democratic
rival Hillary Clinton would threaten them.
The billionaire
businessman and leaders of the nation’s powerful gun lobby joined forces as
they amplified warnings that the Supreme Court vacancy only raises the stakes
for gun owners in this election.
Trump, speaking to the NRA-ILA (Institute for
Legislative Action) forum in Louisville, Ky., even challenged Clinton on Friday
to release a list of her potential Supreme Court nominees, after he did so
earlier this week.
“I would like for
Hillary Clinton to put a list together also, and I want to see what the list
consists of,” he said. “It will be day and night, it won’t be good for the
people in this room and the country.”
He charged, “Hillary
Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment.”
He addressed the NRA-ILA
forum moments after Executive Director Chris Cox announced the group’s Trump
endorsement.
In a written statement,
Cox also said: "The stakes in this year's presidential election could not
be higher for gun owners. If Hillary Clinton gets the opportunity to replace
Antonin Scalia with an anti-gun Supreme Court justice, we will lose the
individual right to keep a gun in the home for self-defense. … So the
choice for gun owners in this election is clear. And that choice is Donald
Trump.”
The NRA's endorsement
comes significantly earlier in the election cycle than previous endorsements by
the group. The group did not endorse 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney until October
2012.
However, officials told
Fox News ahead of the announcement there is an excitement for Trump among their
members that they did not see for Romney or 2008 nominee Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz.
Trump, who noted he has
a concealed-carry permit (“Boy would I surprise someone if they hit Trump”), on
Friday called for making it easier for law-abiding citizens to carry guns for
self-protection, saying they could help prevent terrorist attacks and mass
shootings.
On the San Bernardino
terrorist attack, he said, “if we had guns on the other side [of the attack],
it wouldn’t have been that way …boom,” before pledging to abolish gun-free
zones.
He joined the NRA in
warning of dire consequences for the Second Amendment if Clinton is elected
president.
“Crooked Hillary is the
most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate,” he said. “She wants to take
your guns away from you, just remember that.”
Trump said that the only
way to prevent scrapping gun rights was to vote for him in November.
“The only way to save
our Second Amendment is to vote for a person you all know named Donald Trump,”
Trump said. “I will never let you down, I will protect the Second Amendment, I
will protect our country.”
Trump also blasted the
Clintons as “heartless hypocrites” for having armed bodyguards while calling
for gun restrictions.
