Second Amendment enthusiast Trump has little new to say on guns

President Donald Trump began his second term with a blitz of executive orders about everything from birthright citizenship to immigration enforcement. Missing from the first week flurry of new policies, though, was action on guns.

During his presidential campaign, Trump said that repealing Biden-era gun regulations would be a priority. But as a candidate, Trump offered few additional clues about what his actions would be around guns and Second Amendment rights. Guns and gun policy were also not included in Trump's inaugural address in Washington, nor did they figure into any of the executive orders he signed on Day One. Despite the lack of early action, Republicans are expected to push for national concealed carry legislation in the coming months, which President Trump previously said he would sign.

Will Trump be a defender of gun owners' rights?

The word "guns" did not appear in Trump's "Plan to End Crime and Restore Law and Order" page on his campaign's "Agenda 47" policy package. That is likely because he and most Republican lawmakers do not believe that curtailing access to guns will have any meaningful impact on crime rates or the country's mass shooting problem. The Agenda 47 page did promise that as president, Trump would "sign concealed carry reciprocity legislation," referencing a bill that passed the House in 2017; this would force states that currently prohibit individuals from carrying concealed firearms to allow anyone with a valid concealed carry permit to do so. Concealed carry reciprocity legislation has already been introduced in the House and Senate as of January 2025, "and is expected to pass Congress," said the Colorado Springs-Gazette.

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Trump has occasionally addressed the issue of gun rights in public settings. During his first administration, "there was great pressure on me having to do with guns. We did nothing," he said to a gathering of National Rifle Association (NRA) members in February 2024. "Your Second Amendment will always be safe with me as your president," Trump said. While accepting the endorsement of the NRA on May 18, 2024, Trump said that the Second Amendment is "very much on the ballot" in this year's election. Those comments mean that Trump has not modified his past opposition to a ban on assault weapons or strengthening background check procedures for potential gun buyers.

What safety measures will Trump put in place to combat school shootings?

The issue of mass shootings in American schools continues to divide Americans. Trump sides with most Republicans in recommending additional security measures at schools rather than making an effort to prohibit certain kinds of guns or even to strengthen procedures like background checks. "President Trump will support school districts that allow highly trained teachers to carry concealed weapons at school," his campaign stated in an Agenda 47 item called "President Trump's Ten Principles For Great Schools Leading to Great Jobs." The page also called for "federal funding to hire veterans, retired police officers, and other trained gun owners as armed guards in our nation's schools."

As new president-elect, Trump did not respond to the December 16, 2024 shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin that killed a teacher and two students, including the shooter, and congressional Republicans have not promised any new action on security measures in schools. However, bills arming teachers are a "growing trend among state legislatures," including Iowa and Tennessee in 2024, said Education Week.

In his October 3, 2024 debate with Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), also said that he supports increased funding for school security. "We have to make the doors lock better. We have to make the doors stronger. We've got to make the windows stronger," said Vance. The campaign did not release a specific proposal to strengthen windows and doors in the more than 95,000 public schools in the country, and no legislation has been introduced in the new Congress that would begin the process of doing so. Vice President Vance has not spoken publicly about the issue since he was sworn in. During the campaign, Vance courted controversy about the issue when he appeared to say that school shootings are part of American life. "I don't like that this is a fact of life," said Vance at a rally in Phoenix while calling for making schools more secure. Today, "at least 28 states allow schools to arm teachers or staff," said RAND.

How will the Supreme Court influence the future of gun laws in America?

As president from 2017 to 2021, Trump appointed three justices to the United States Supreme Court, all of whom were regarded as strong supporters of gun rights. Yet the Court has only issued a handful of major rulings on guns during this period. The most high-profile decision was when a 6-3 majority, including all three of Trump's appointees, ruled in June 2022 that the Second Amendment guarantees individuals' right to carry guns outside of their homes, preempting state laws prohibiting firearms in public places. There is currently a case before the Supreme Court regarding so-called "ghost guns" — guns assembled from kits that contain the parts necessary to build a firearm — challenging a Biden administration rule designed to treat the sale of gun components used in the creation of such devices like any other gun sold on the market. The Trump campaign did not take a public position on the issue, and as president, Trump has yet to take any action in his second term.