Trump camp hits one year as discussion turns to guns

Trump walking a fine line by hinting at gun policy change?

TRUMP CAMP HITS ONE YEAR AS THE DISCUSSION TURNS TO GUNS
One year ago today, Donald Trump descended from the glass escalator in Trump Tower to announce his presidential launch. At the time, Jeb Bush and his much rumored big-money super PAC was going to clobber all other Republican hopefuls with maybe a challenge from young Sen. Marco Rubio or popular Gov. Scott Walker.
Ha!
On Day 365 of Trump’s bid, another new poll (taken before the deadly shootings in Orlando) puts Hillary Clinton on top of Trump by 6 points. My, this is a far, far cry from the pre-convention general election scenario Republicans envisioned a year ago.
It is especially true for party conservatives, as their now presumptive nominee hints at a new stance on a core issue for Republican voters: gun rights.
On Wednesday, Trump said that he’d like to discuss with the National Rifle Association, which has already endorsed him, the possibility of preventing gun sales to those on the government’s terror watch list. This coincides with legislation proposed by Senate Democrats that would put such a measure in place, a measure which the NRA has already opposed on the grounds that it gives the government too much power over people who haven’t even been charged with a crime.
Some Senate Republicans, however, seem more open to the possibility of restricting gun sales to those suspected of terrorist ties, but the implementation of the Republican-led ban is much different than what Democrats have proposed.
Although they agree those on the terror watch list should not be sold weapons, Republicans believe that in order to justify not selling the firearm the government must provide evidence for why the sale could not go through within 72 hours.
In the past, Trump has shown openness to banning assault weapons and imposing a waiting period on gun sales. But similar to his switch on abortion, another crucial GOP issue, Trump has fully embraced the Second Amendment right since entering the presidential race.
Trump said at his rally in Atlanta on Wednesday, “By the way, I’m going to save your Second Amendment,” after arguing that if someone else in the Orlando nightclub had a firearm other than the shooter the devastation wouldn’t have been as severe.
Where Trump ultimately comes down on the issue remains to be seen, as his only mention so far was in a single tweet. If he supports a measure on a restriction akin to that proposed by the Democrats and strongly opposed by the NRA however, it would mean a big break with his core constituents and the party as a whole.
And for a man who relies heavily on polling to make his decisions, Trump will find no help here. The country has been split for years: a Gallup survey of recent polling on gun issues shows that there is always a slight uptick in favor of restrictions immediately after a mass shooting followed by a dip as time goes on.
Republicans will have to wait and see how Trump decides to proceed, but it’s a sure bet that one year ago today the party never thought they’d face a possible challenge on a key issue from their own party’s candidate. Or that the candidate in question would be the man descending from the glass escalator.