Tonight, President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address to the American people, marking just over three years since he took office. During Trump’s first year in office, 58 people were killed at a concert in Las Vegas and 25 people, including a pregnant woman, were killed at a church in Texas. During Trump’s second year, 17 people were killed at a school in Parkland Shooting and 12 were killed at a country-western bar in California. And during one weekend in Trump’s third year, 22 people were killed at a Walmart in El Paso and 9 were killed at a bar in Dayton.
All told, at least 100,000 Americans have been killed by guns since President Trump took office––and twice that many have been wounded––in mass shootings, incidents of daily gun violence, unintentional gun violence, and gun suicide. And yet, Trump has consistently stood in the way of gun safety legislation.
Here are five ways President Trump has failed to keep the American people safe from gun violence:
- He failed to support background checks on all gun sales: Nearly a year ago, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8––a bill to require background checks on all gun sales––with support from 93 percent of American voters and a bipartisan coalition in Congress. But it has sat on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s desk ever since, untouched and unpassed, because McConnell and Trump refuse to support it.
- He reversed support on red flag laws: Red flag laws are extremely popular measures that empower family members and law enforcement to ask a judge to temporarily remove a person’s guns when the person is showing warning signs of posing a risk to themselves or others. After last year’s mass shootings, Trump promised to support these life-saving measures –– but he’s since abandoned the idea.
- He proliferated access to downloadable guns: In January, Trump decided to enable schematics for downloadable, untraceable guns to be posted online––a move that could allow terrorists, convicted felons, and domestic abusers to 3D print untraceable weapons.
- He made it possible for people suffering from severe mental illness to buy guns: In 2017, Trump quietly reversed an Obama-era rule, thus making it possible for people who were found to be unable to manage their financial affairs as a result of their mental impairment to buy guns.
- He repeatedly caved to the NRA: After receiving $30 million in political support from the NRA in 2016, Trump’s administration has shaped policies at the NRA’s behest. Trump has also repeatedly spoken with NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, who asked Trump to “stop the games” around gun safety legislation after this year’s mass shootings. Shortly after, Trump obliged.
Everytown Action Fund and Victory Fund plan to spend $60 million on an electoral program for 2020. For all the reasons outlined above, Everytown, Moms Demand Action, and Students Demand Action will work tirelessly to replace President Trump with a Gun Sense president.