Trump shocks gun supporters: ‘Take the guns first, go through due process second’
Maybe they’ll be a surge on “Make America Great” hats as leftists and gun control activists have to be cheering President Trump’s remarks yesterday: “Take the guns first, go through due process second.”
While speaking on the tragic Florida shooting, Trump said “I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida … to go to court would have taken a long time,” Trump said at a meeting with lawmakers on school safety and gun violence.
“Take the guns first, go through due process second,” Trump said.
Check out the clip at the bottom.
Trump was responding to comments from Vice President Pence that families and local law enforcement should have more tools to report potentially dangerous individuals with weapons.
“Allow due process so no one’s rights are trampled, but the ability to go to court, obtain an order and then collect not only the firearms but any weapons,” Pence said.
“Or, Mike, take the firearms first, and then go to court,” Trump responded.
Trump met with lawmakers on Wednesday to discuss gun laws and school safety in the aftermath of a Feb. 14 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead.
The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was able to legally purchase the AR-15 reportedly used in the shooting despite numerous calls to law enforcement and the FBI about his unstable behavior.
photo/ donkeyhotey
“I’m a fan of the NRA,” Trump said. “There’s no bigger fan. I’m a big fan of the NRA. These are great people, these great patriots. They love our country. But that doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything.”
As Slate noted:
It’s definitely possible that the White House will issue a statement or anonymous walk back making clear that “the president never meant to suggest that any individual should be deprived of their Second Amendment blah blah blah,” but even so, this seems like a striking symbol of the way the Parkland, Florida, shooting has shifted the parameters of the national gun-violence debate.
