Some Second Amendment supporters claim that President Trump has not done anything to support Second Amendment rights. They say: The ATF still exists! The National Firearms Act of 1934 has not been repealed! The Gun Control Act of 1968 has not been repealed!
Those actions are not within the ability of the President of the United States to accomplish by executive action, at least not in a constitutional republic. A very slim majority of Republicans exists in the House. Fewer than the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster exist in the Senate. This means statutory change is very difficult to accomplish. A few Republican members of the House and the Senate are not reliable supporters of the Second Amendment. Such numbers are all it takes to make legislative passage extremely difficult.
In the face of such difficulties, President Trump has accomplished significant positive change in his second term. Supporters can make a strong case that Trump’s second-term record is the most aggressively pro-Second Amendment record of any modern administration.
It is not surprising that the Republic did not see any significant challenge to rights protected by the Second Amendment until a generation after the ratification of the Bill of Rights. A couple of laws restricting concealed carry were passed in 1813. The Kentucky law was struck down as unconstitutional by the state supreme court, leaving the Louisiana law as an outlier for another decade. After the Founding generation had passed away, the infringements on the Second Amendment started being passed.
Here are some of the actions the Trump Administration has taken to restore Second Amendment rights in the United States. Two are statutory. The rest have been done with administrative authority:
- January 20, 2025 – January 20, 2025 — The Trump administration shut down the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, created under the Biden administration.
- February 7, 2025 – President Trump issues an executive order to protect Second Amendment rights. White House link.
- April 7, 2025 – Trump DOJ repeals the Zero Tolerance policy by the ATF. The ATF announces plans to revise the policy on stabilizing braces and the definition of “engaged in the business by ATF.
- July 4, 2025 – (Statutory) Trump administration passes Big Beautiful Bill ending taxes for silencers, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and any other weapons. This was the first time any of the NFA taxes were eliminated. The item should have been removed from the NFA, as the Trump administration proposed. The Senate Parliamentarian prevented their complete removal.
- July 21, 2025 – Trump’s administration plans to create a process for people to regain Second Amendment rights.
- August 7, 2025 – President Trump bans banks from discriminating against gun companies.
- August 15, 2025 – The Trump administration streamlines the carry permit process for D.C.
- October 10, 2025 – The Trump administration files a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for the denial of Second Amendment rights.
- October 10, 2025 – President Trump has confirmed Jennifer Mascott to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Mascott is likely to be a critical voice in a Second Amendment case.
- September 30, 2025 – The Trump administration rescinds the Biden administration’s export restrictions on firearms.
- November 6, 2025 – President Trump cuts off federal funding to gun control groups.
- November 8, 2025 – Trump’s U.S. Attorney for D.C. will refuse to seek felony charges for unregistered rifles or shotguns in D.C.
- November 17, 2025 – (Statutory) President Trump signs a law protecting the Second Amendment rights of veterans from the Veterans Administration.
- January 8, 2026 – President Trump’s DOJ submits a brief against California’s background checks for ammunition.
- Jan 13, 2026 – President Trump pulls the U.S. out of the UN Register of Conventional Arms.
- January 28, 2025 – President Trump’s DOJ files a brief in the Massachusetts handgun roster case, taking the side of the Second Amendment.
- April 3, 2026 – Secretary of War Pete Hegseth orders military installations to allow military members to carry off-duty on post.
Whether one agrees with every Trump policy or not, his administration has moved faster and more directly on Second Amendment issues than any recent Republican administration.
The above is not a complete list. There have been several amicus briefs filed in Second Amendment cases by the administration to restore Second Amendment rights. Feel free to add any accomplishments not listed in the comments.
When a fundamental constitutional right has been trampled in the dirt for over a hundred years, it is understandable for supporters to be anxious to see the right completely restored, immediately. Unfortunately, such is impossible without destroying the structure of the Republic inherent in the ordered liberty of the Constitution. If the Constitution is destroyed, the Second Amendment is not guaranteed. Is there more the Trump administration can do? Yes, absolutely. Are we going to see significant improvements?
Yes, absolutely. Will we see enormous statutory changes? No, unless the Republicans hold the House and the Senate in the midterms, and probably not unless they gain seats in both.
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About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
