The National Rifle Association is planning proactive measures for its pro-gun agenda, according to The Hill.
"For the first time in almost a decade, the NRA is shifting from a defensive stance to a pro-active stance. We're going from defense to offense," said Jennifer Baker, NRA spokeswoman.
The gun rights group contributed more than $30 million to the campaign of President Donald Trump, and is lobbying for him to choose a proponent of the Second Amendment to fill the open seat on the Supreme Court. The group also is focusing on legislation to expand concealed-carry laws and to allow hunters to use silencers.
"Now, we have a pro-Second Amendment Congress, and a pro-Second Amendment president, who will sign pro-Second Amendment legislation. That's a huge shift," Baker said.
Constitutional law professor Adam Winkler said that the NRA has a singular focus, which contributes to its success.
"One of the things that makes NRA such a political powerhouse is that, by and large, it stays focused on the issue it cares about: guns. Whatever Trump might say about women and sexual harassment, that's just not as interesting to the NRA. They are focused on what Trump will do for guns." Winkler said.
Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords said the gun lobby was "one of the first to support Donald Trump, and now that he won and their friends control Congress, they are going to expect a return on that investment."
She survived a shooting attack and now represents Americans for Responsible Solutions.
The NRA supports the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would allow concealed-carry gun owners to take their guns with them when they travel and would let gun owners get concealed-carry permits in other states, as long as they follow the rules of the states to which they travel.
Those in favor of the legislation want to expand the rights of gun owners as they travel. "The type of criminal who will break gun laws, they'll conceal a gun anyway," bill sponsor and North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson told The Hill.
"We're talking about Americans who can legally possess a gun and want to go through the steps to do it the right way. We want to protect them from being criminalized."
South Carolina Rep. Jeff Duncan introduced the Hearing Protection Act to allow hunters to use silencers.
"The hunter needs to be able to hear a deer walking in the woods, or a turkey gobbling. You can't always wear headphones or earplugs when you're hunting," Duncan said.
The NRA also wants Trump to reverse former President Barack Obama's executive orders on gun control.
"Elections have consequences, and in this recent election the majority of Americans voted in support of the Second Amendment," Baker said.
The president's win was a positive for the NRA, and Trump has said gun owners' rights are one of the issues he is considering when choosing a new justice.
"That's 30 years of votes against gun control," Winkler said, referring to the lifetime appointment of a Supreme Court justice.
The NRA Institute for Legislative Action on Friday announced its support for the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act, which would protect veterans against having their gun rights taken away if the Veterans Administration rules that the veterans are "mentally defective" without a court hearing.
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