The Trump Administration is on the move against Second Amendment infringements, and the American people are finally getting a glimpse of what it looks to have an executive branch that’s fully invested in protecting the right to keep and bear arms.
Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, recently announced a new legal offensive against states and localities with gun laws that clearly run afoul of the Constitution. Her office just filed very strategic lawsuits against the city of Denver over its ordinance prohibiting so-called assault weapons, and against the state of Colorado over its ban on selling standard capacity magazines.
Over at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, meanwhile, newly confirmed director Robert Cekada has wasted no time getting the agency to work for lawful gun owners instead of against them, releasing a slew of proposed regulatory reforms that will remove unnecessary red tape and burdens on the right to keep and bear arms.
Among other things, the new rules will shore up federal protections afforded to gun owners who travel with otherwise lawfully owned firearms through states with more restrictive gun laws. They will also roll back Biden-era changes that effectively presumed any person who engaged in a private intrastate gun sale was an “unlicensed dealer,” and that treated most braced pistols as short-barreled rifles requiring federal registration. The Trump Administration clearly understands what too many previous administrations refused to admit — lawful gun ownership isn’t some problem for the government to solve, but a right that the government must protect. A well-armed citizenry is a net positive for public safety.
A 2013 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged that almost every study on the issue has found that between 500,000 and several million defensive gun uses occur every year in the United States. An extensive 2021 national survey conducted by a Georgetown professor further substantiated this reality, concluding that Americans used their firearms defensively an average of 1.2 million times a year.
Consider the following stories of successful defensive gun use from April:
April 2, Shaler, Pa.: A resident of an apartment building saw a man who didn’t live at the complex off-loading an entire pickup bed full of garbage into the complex’s private dumpster and told him to stop. As the encounter escalated from argument to confrontation, the resident tried to retreat into his apartment and shut the door. The man, however, charged at the resident, barged through the door, and assaulted him, inflicting significant injuries to the resident’s head and neck. When the man attempted to resume his assault after a brief pause, the resident drew a holstered handgun from his waistband and shot him once in the arm. The wounded assailant was charged with felony aggravated assault and burglary.
April 3, Paris, Ill.: In what appears to have been a racially motivated and alcohol-fueled attack, two brothers and their friend (all three of them white) surrounded several black men who were fishing in a public park and aggressively harassed them with racial slurs. When the victims tried to de-escalate the encounter and leave, one of the brothers grabbed a shotgun from his truck and threatened to kill them, shooting off rounds near them. One victim — who police say was legally carrying a handgun — fired at the shotgun-wielding brother in self-defense, striking him multiple times as he and the other victims fled under fire. All three assailants now face felony hate crime charges, as well as other felony charges including attempted first-degree murder and weapons offenses.
April 5, Midlothian, Tex.: A man arguing with family members retrieved a handgun from his truck and fired shots toward the family members’ house, wounding an 11-year-old girl and prompting the victims to call police. The man briefly left the scene but returned minutes later. This time, he was met by one of his sons, who’d armed himself with a rifle. The two exchanged gunfire until the man fled for good. He later stabbed himself in the neck when confronted by police and will face nearly a dozen felony charges if he survives. The girl he shot was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
April 10, Woodland Hills, Calif.: An armed homeowner confronted two men who were trying to steal his car from his driveway in the middle of the night. The would-be car thieves exchanged gunfire with the homeowner but ultimately fled — without the victim’s vehicle. Police believe at least one of the suspects may have been hit in the shootout.
April 14, Nashville, Tenn.: Police say that, when a convicted felon in illegal possession of a handgun began shooting at a vehicle in a crowded residential neighborhood, the driver returned fire and struck his assailant. Shell casing evidence indicates that the driver fired at least 14 rounds in self-defense. Police arrested the gunman after he sought hospital treatment, and he was charged with four offenses, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. It appears that neither the victim nor any bystanders were harmed.
April 18, Phoenix, Ariz.: An armed resident confronted and fatally shot an intruder who forced his way inside a home around 3 a.m. Police initially detained the armed resident but released him from custody after evidence from the scene corroborated his story of self-defense.
April 20, Bradenton, Fla.: A masked man entered an arcade and demanded money from customers at gunpoint, then shot a non-compliant victim multiple times at close range. The robber ordered the arcade manager to get more money, enabling her to retrieve a handgun from an office and fire a round at the robber, who immediately fled.
April 21, Medford, Ore.: An apartment resident called police to report erratic behavior by a screaming neighbor. While officers were on their way to the mental distress call, the neighbor tried to break into another unit with an ax, and one of the occupants of that unit shot him in self-defense.
April 25, Nashville, Tenn.: An armed man approached a DoorDash driver who’d just returned to his car after picking up an order and demanded the car at gunpoint. The driver retrieved a gun from under his seat while getting out of the car, but the suspect apparently saw this and shot the driver in the leg. The wounded driver quickly returned fire and fatally struck the carjacker.
April 28, Houston, Tex.: Two recently acquainted social media influencers met up to film content while driving together, but one of the men allegedly tried to rob the other at gunpoint while they waited at a red light. After a brief fight, the victim, who was also armed, shot his assailant while avoiding getting shot himself. The critically injured robber fled but didn’t make it far before collapsing in the roadway, where police found and detained him.
These incidents of armed self-defense by law-abiding citizens underscore the importance of the right to keep and bear arms for ordinary Americans. The Trump Administration’s recent pro-Second Amendment efforts don’t remove every infringement or protect indefinitely against every anti-gun strategy — such a victory can only be achieved through the combined efforts of Congress and the Supreme Court, and the perpetual vigilance of American voters.
But they are nonetheless a huge step in the right direction from the executive branch. And for that, the nation should rightly applaud.