In the wake of numerous mass shootings, US presidential candidates have been quick to
politicize the issue, with many calling for stricter or looser gun control regulations.
Despite generally agreeing along party lines, each candidate has her own interpretation
of what can be done to decrease the number of shootings.
So we wanted to know, what do the Republican candidates think about gun control?
Well, across the board, each candidate has expressed overwhelming support for the Second
Amendment.
Specifically, there is an open distrust of the government and Congressional Democrats
in crafting any new gun legislation.
They distinctly oppose gun control on principle.
But when it comes to the specifics of who can and cannot own a gun, there is actually
considerable dissent amongst the candidates.
It is broadly acknowledged that there ARE certain people, for example criminals and
the mentally ill, who should be barred from owning guns.
Chris Christie has advocated for, and passed bills, creating more comprehensive background
checks, which include mental health records.
On the other hand, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz once threatened to filibuster a similar federal
bill, and Paul clarifies that guns should only be available to “responsible, law-abiding
citizens”.
Marco Rubio has avoided the question of expanding background checks, instead suggesting that
current laws already address the issue.
He has said that increased checks would not have prevented the terror attack in California,
and that the real issue is violence, not guns.
Chris Christie actually makes the same point, of addressing violence over guns, but Christie
is actually one of the few candidates to support certain forms of gun control.
His state, New Jersey, already has a ban on assault weapons.
Christie does maintain that his city has too many handguns, and supports gun control to
protect police officers.
Ben Carson echoes this idea, saying that semiautomatic weapons should be limited in cities, but allowed
in the countryside.
The actual method of firearm enforcement is also a contentious topic.
The ability of people on the no-fly list to purchase weapons was brought up to Carly Fiorina
in 2010, which she opposed on the basis that the list is poorly maintained.
Others, like Ben Carson, have said that registering gun owners simply allows the government to
come and take your guns.
As for Donald Trump…
well, Trump used to be a big supporter of gun control, and wrote about it extensively
in his 2000 book, The America We Deserve.
But this election cycle has seen him, Kasich, and others decry assault weapon bans as failures.
And like Jeb Bush he now believes that expanded background checks are a bad idea.
Still, Trump once agreed with Democrats that high gun ownership was the reason for a high
murder rate.
An idea which most candidates have mostly avoided addressing in the context of gun control.
Overall, Christie, Carson, and until recently, Trump, have expressed the most lenient views
on gun control, while Bush, Kasich, Cruz, Paul, Rubio, and Fiorina, have made staunch
support of the Second Amendment a cornerstone of their campaign.
What does the Republican party believe when it comes to guns, abortion, and other hot-button
issues?
Learn about the GOP’s stances in this video.
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