In looking back at President-elect Donald Trump’s historic victory over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, one thing is clear: While his election was a complete repudiation of many things, both gun control and the so-called “mainstream” media rise to the top of the heap.
Nobody voiced that better than Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. "Voters sent a loud and clear message that our gun rights are not for sale.”
— Chris W. Cox, executive director, NRA-ILA
"Voters sent a loud and clear message that our gun rights are not for sale,” Cox said when the results were finalized. “In the face of threats against their constitutional freedoms, NRA members and Second Amendment supporters rallied to elect a pro-gun president.”
In fact, over the past several months, Clinton had become the most vocally anti-gun presidential candidate in history. While many who want to impose more restrictive gun-control laws try to hide it for election expediency (it has been an Election Day loser for decades), Clinton embraced it in a big way.
From starting out marginalizing 5 million NRA members by naming them the enemies she is “most proud of,” to declaring that the U.S. Supreme Court “got it wrong” on the Heller decision that ruled the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms for self-defense in the home, Clinton pushed the gun issue right up to Election Day. Along the way, she declared Donald Trump supporters—many of them law-abiding gun owners—to be “deplorables,” and even said a forced gun confiscation regimen like that in Australia was “worth looking at” here in the United States.
All that was more than most gun owners could stand—and they proved it by going to the polls in record numbers and winning swing state after swing state throughout a long night of vote counting. Indeed, much of the credit for Trump’s historic victory can be attributed to the unwavering support of the National Rifle Association.
“Trump’s victory repudiates the assertion by gun control advocates that the political calculus regarding the Second Amendment has changed,” Cox said. “A special thank-you to NRA members and supporters who made the difference in this important election. Freedom scored another victory because of your efforts.”
Indeed, much of the credit for Trump’s historic victory can be attributed to the unwavering support of the National Rifle Association. While many in the establishment shunned Trump, NRA stood with the candidate during ups and downs, highs and lows, and finally victory over Clinton.
And there’s a good reason why. While Clinton made known her disdain for guns and gun owners throughout the campaign, Trump did just the opposite, speaking out about the important rights protected by the Second Amendment.
“It’s easy for Hillary Clinton to turn a blind eye to crime when she has her own private security force that, by the way, carries guns,” Trump said at a recent campaign stop. “I believe all Americans—not just the powerful—are entitled to security.”
While freedom won the day, the other big loser was the so-called “mainstream” media—although they’ll likely never admit it.
Anti-gunners in the media hash and rehash every shooting by violent criminals, all the while not distinguishing between law-abiding gun owners and criminals. They push bans on popular guns and ammunition magazines, and seldom mention the thousands upon thousands of instances each year where armed good guys stop armed bad guys intent on making them victims.
In truth, the “mainstream” media—CNN, CNBC and the other alphabet networks and national newspapers—are completely out of touch with real “mainstream” Americans. If they don’t see this election as a big “up yours” from America’s lawful gun owners, then they are beyond saving. And while that’s likely the case, perhaps the Trump victory will open a few editors’ and reporters’ eyes to the fact that guns aren’t bad—and that the vast majority of gun owners aren’t, either. I won’t hold my breath for that, though.If [the national media] don’t see this election as a big “up yours” from America’s lawful gun owners, then they are beyond saving.
Media aside, in the end make no mistake: Those who oppose the Second Amendment aren’t going anywhere. From billionaire gun-hater Michael Bloomberg, to all his astroturf shell groups, to old, haggard standbys like the Brady Campaign, they’ve just begun to fight. And they’re apparently content spewing their same old hatred and lies as America moves forward into a Trump administration.
"Although we are disappointed that a candidate who ran his campaign on a message of hate, violence, intimidation and fear will be the next president of the United States, the American people have spoken,” Brady President Dan Gross told thehill.com. “I only hope President-elect Trump recognizes that nine out of 10 Americans, regardless of who they supported for president, want to create a safer America by expanding Brady background checks to every gun sale.
“Trump’s election isn’t the end of this fight."
“At least Gross’s last point is refreshingly true. NRA and A1F Daily will continue to fight to stop further gun-ban plans of such groups—and to roll back current restrictive laws and regulations that target the law-abiding while letting armed criminals have their way.
