U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- For the fifth year in a row, Donald Trump will be appearing at the National Rifle Association’s Leadership Forum during the organization’s 148th annual meetings and exhibits at the Indiana Convention Center – Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis on April 26, NRA has announced.
NRA made the announcement Friday. The Leadership Forum is a Friday highlight of the three-day convention. The program runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and always features a big lineup. Last year, both President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence appeared. The president has been the keynoter for the past three years, and he is invariably the biggest draw on the program.
“Donald Trump is the most enthusiastic supporter of the Second Amendment to occupy the Oval Office in our lifetimes. It is truly an honor to have President Trump address NRA members for the fifth consecutive year,” said Chris Cox, NRA-ILA Executive Director in a news release. “President Trump’s Supreme Court appointments ensure that the Second Amendment will be respected for generations to come. Our members are excited to hear him speak and thank him for his support for our Right to Keep and Bear Arms.”
Trump has also been quietly filling lower federal court vacancies with more conservative and Second Amendment-friendly judges. As noted by USA Today, re-shaping the courts may be seen as one of the president’s “biggest achievements since entering the White House.” He has turned the Third Circuit Court more conservative with a majority of Republican nominees, and he has even appointed more conservatives to the traditionally left-leaning, activist Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
According to Fox News, “For the first time in more than three decades, Republican-appointed judges will soon occupy nearly half the seats on the left-leaning 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — dealing a setback to progressive legal advocates who have long seen the court as a safe bet for favorable rulings.”
Since Trump pulled a surprise victory against Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016, it is widely believed that NRA members and gun owners in general contributed to the win, just to keep her out of the White House. With nearly 20 Democrats already announced to challenge him in 2020—and all of them having anti-gun backgrounds—the president is making certain to court gun owners again heading into the campaign, which is essentially already underway.
With one new Second Amendment case from New York City already accepted for review by the high court, there are hopes among gun rights activists that the court will accept more challenges to onerous gun control laws. The court’s new conservative majority, with Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh on board, is giving beleaguered gun owners hope that some of the laws now being challenged by NRA and/or Second Amendment Foundation legal actions could make it to the Supreme Court for consideration.
This year’s NRA gathering comes on the heels of a significant federal court ruling in California that declared the state’s ban on large capacity magazines is unconstitutional. While a stay on enforcement of that ruling was granted by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez one week after he issued his 86-page smack down of Proposition 63’s magazine ban in 2016, it left intact the injunction preventing enforcement of California Penal Code § 32310 (a) and (b) “for those persons and business entities who have manufactured, imported, sold, or bought magazines able to hold more than 10 rounds between the entry of this Court’s injunction on March 29, 2019 and 5:00 p.m., Friday, April 5, 2019.”
Chuck Michel, the attorney representing the plaintiffs in that case, known as Duncan v. Becerra, said in a telephone conversation that even with the stay, there is no mistaking that Judge Benitez handed California gun owners a win. His ruling is being seen by many as a detailed demolition of the state’s gun controls, with the summation that the laws haven’t worked.
The Benitez ruling is already being appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over the western states from Arizona to Alaska and Hawaii. It is the largest federal court circuit in the country. That being the case, the importance of Trump’s nominations could soon be realized.
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
Democrats turn the heat up quickly, Republicans turn the heat up slowly.
Throw a frog in boiling water it reacts instinctively and leaps out. Place a frog in cool water and gradually turn the heat up… it gets cooked.
I’ll vote against commies, but remain vigilant because i’m not sure the other side is much better.
the NRA are a useless bunch of self serving bureaucrats, none of the leadership care about US. All they care about is preserving the value of their guns.
Hi Bryan, You outed yourself GWD. AND you showed a complete lack of understanding of the 2A. Again. I have to assume that the “we” is you and your mouse. Follow your own advice and do something other than “typing out responses on this web-site.” [email protected] says: April 7, 2019 at 6:47 PM Edit NRA Life Member, We understand that you are overly passionate on your right to own guns. However, those rights demand responsibilities and most importantly the safety for yourself and others. As a voting member of the NRA, I suggest you then become more involved other than… Read more »
Unfortunately, it’s “Leave your 2A rights in the car……gun and knife….cause old Trump is in the house. Leave him in DC and video conference his ass in. We don’t gain anything by him being in person….do you really think you are going to get to talk to him personally…… and having the inconvenience and increasing probability of guns being stolen out of our vehicles…..or leave in hotel room….or come to Indy completely unarmed!!!! None of these options are acceptable.
Beside some of the nutmegs here making silly adolescent comments, let’s keep in mind no organization pleases everyone, including the U.S.A. The N.R.A does have a lot of clout which is why DJT is speaking there. He’s in trouble because there is still no wall. The Left wants Patriots to be fighting like this. “Divide and Conquer.” Be angry, yes but don’t fall into the Left Wing trap.
I am disappointed in the president also but will never vote for the democrat party.
Any suggestions?
“I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools, and — you have to — and on military bases,” he said at a rally in Burlington, Vermont, in January 2016. “My first day, it gets signed, okay? My first day. There’s no more gun-free zones.”
Watch it here: https://youtu.be/zQJMsf0FiAI
Wonder what sort of BS he’ll spew this year.
Trump definitely has some questions to answer to the NRA members. He made some big promises to get elected and reneged on them.
I am puzzled, is being a, “NRA-certified firearms instructor”, something that means anything of consequence? I do admit that there are plenty of people that love their “titles.”
Let’s face it, the NRA is not for the 2A crowd. They are strictly for themselves by collecting our dues then spending the money on their lavish lifestyles. Support the other gun rights groups that are serious about their position. The article mentions Trump’s appointments to various court vacancies and we know he is trying to rebuild the economy. Plus, closing the southern border is a big job. That leaves us with the prospect of voting in 2020 but for who. There is no way in hell I would vote for one of the democrat idiots that are running and… Read more »
I see many beat me to the point of what world is this person living in. “Donald Trump is the most enthusiastic supporter of the Second Amendment to occupy the Oval Office in our lifetimes…. ” I’ll bet Trump’s nuts that he does not care a damn about the 2A. If this were a tax forum he’d be up the creek there too. He’s looking more and more like a giant phallus that has only one purpose. What to screw the heck out of next. I would not let him play with razor blades than to trust our 2A rights… Read more »