Opinion
By Larry Keane

Former President Donald J. Trump gave the keynote address at the recent NRA Annual Meeting in Dallas and had some important words for those in attendance. He urged attendees to get excited, go back home and spread the word, get active ahead of the upcoming national election and – most importantly – to vote.

Just before speaking to the crowd, the former president – the presumptive 2024 Republican party nominee for The White House – received the endorsement of the NRA.

While giving his remarks, Former President Trump exclaimed, “You’ve got to get all your friends and all the gun owners they have to go in, they have to vote. If they vote, there’s nobody that can beat us!”

The firearm industry couldn’t agree more and it’s an effort that we’ve been focused on for many years with the #GUNVOTE® voter registration, education and mobilization campaign.

Criticism and Warning

The former president had plenty to say about the Biden administration and its never-ceasing attack on the Second Amendment. After all, President Joe Biden deemed the firearm industry “the enemy” from the debate stage in 2019 and has done all he can to punish us ever since.

Former President Trump reiterated that the liberties and Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans are “under siege” and that those rights will be on the ballot in November. He warned convention-goers that the current president will “come for your guns – 100 percent,” if he wins a second term.

Contrasting his approach to that of President Biden’s, the former president declared, “I promise you this, with me at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, no one will lay a finger on your firearms — just as took place for four years when I was your president.”

On the other hand, former President Trump warned, “If President Joe Biden gets four more years they are coming for your guns, 100 percent certain.” He continued by reminding attendees that the president, “has a 40-year-record of trying to rip firearms out of the hands of law-abiding citizens.”

“We have to have a Second Amendment that is meaningful,” the former president wrapped up. “Gun owners must vote. We want a landslide. So, I think you’re a rebellious bunch, but let’s be rebellious and vote this time.”

Industry Walks the Walk

The firearm industry agrees with those sentiments. It’s why NSSF launched the #GUNVOTE initiative to ensure those casting ballots at the ballot box are informed of how to register to vote, and when and where to cast a ballot and to make the most impactful decisions to safeguard their rights and freedoms.

#GUNVOTE will help voters figure out when and where to cast their vote. Early voting and absentee voting differ from state to state, but #GUNVOTE conveniently lists out all U.S. states with links to their respective Secretary of State’s website where more details about the process can be found. For those who wait until election day to cast their ballot, #GUNVOTE will also tell voters of their polling place so that exercising the right to vote is as easy as possible.

Make a Difference

Voter education efforts around the Second Amendment and pro-industry issues are key before casting a ballot. Of course, self-defense issues and the very ability and right to purchase and possess firearms is an inalienable right endowed upon law-abiding Americans and engrained within the U.S. Constitution. Those issues – ensuring law-abiding Americans can protect themselves, their families and their property – are what’s most often thought about.

However, issues such as access to public lands and the ability to use those lands for hunting and recreational target shooting are important. Supporting those activities perpetuates the success and health of wildlife management and conservation efforts on hundreds of millions of acres of federal and state lands. The ability for hunters and recreational target shooters to choose the ammunition that works best for them matters too, as recent efforts by federal bureaucrats to prohibit those activities and the use of traditional ammunition have become common.

Further efforts by the Biden administration are crippling the very ability of Americans to own and operate a firearm-related business, risking the livelihoods of more than 380,000 hardworking Americans employed within the firearm industry.

Even still, attacks by the Biden administration on the ability of lawful businesses to produce and export firearms, firearm accessories and ammunition to countries abroad not only negatively impacts communities here at home across the country, but also places America at risk and restricts our national security efforts.

All of these issues are centered around the sacred Second Amendment and the protection of it from attacks by anti-gun, anti-industry activists. The Biden administration’s “whole-of-government” effort to cripple the industry and the rights it exists to protect are a clearcut sign of how important it is for informed Americans to vote at the ballot box.

The firearm industry has worked to further those goals – to protect the rights of Americans to lawfully purchase firearms, to practice and become educated, responsible gunowners and to pass those traditions on to the next generations.

The firearm industry agrees with former President Trump. Gun owners need to #GUNVOTE – so they don’t risk their rights.

About The National Shooting Sports Foundation

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org