A policy panel that then-candidate Donald Trump set up to advise him as president on gun-rights issues has yet to convene and may never formally do so, at least as an official arm of the Trump administration, USA Today reported Wednesday.
Mr. Trump announced the formation of the 64-member Second Amendment Coalition on Nov. 3, 2016, just days before winning the general election. A news release at the time said the group was to be comprised of “grassroots leaders and elected officials who fight for individual liberties, support the right to carry personal protection and will defend the Second Amendment” and that it would “continue to advise Mr. Trump and Governor [Mike] Pence as they protect our Supreme Court and our right to keep and bear arms.”
NRA Institute for Legislative Action Executive Chairman Chris Cox and Donald Trump Jr. — an avid hunter and outdoorsman — serve as chairmen for the Second Amendment Coalition.
According to USA Today, the White House now says that group was a “campaign coalition” and not intended to be a formal part of the Trump administration.
For their part, coalition members seem of differing opinions about the wisdom or importance of making the group an official federal advisory committee.
While gun-rights advocate John Boch, executive director of Guns Save Life Inc., told USA Today that he welcomed the coalition remaining a private group not formally tied to the White House, Rep. Tom Emmer, Minnesota Republican, said he is looking forward to it being constituted as an official policy arm of administration.
“My assumption is it is viable, it is real, and it’s going to operate in some fashion that will help us as we try to move policy that we think is important to protect Second Amendment rights,” Mr. Emmer said, USA Today reported.
If formally constituted as an advisory arm of the Trump administration, federal law “could require the group to have a charter, open its meetings to the public, maintain records, have procedures for public input and be subject to a number of regulations,” USA Today said.
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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