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NRA Pushes Back On Trump's Gun Law Reform Suggestions

BOSTON (CBS) - "We'll turn our grief into action, we have to have action," said President Trump at Monday's discussion of school shootings with governors at the White House.

And while the president raised eyebrows with his claim that he would have done what that Parkland school cop on duty did not - "I really believe I would have run in there even if I didn't have a weapon" - Mr. Trump's most startling remark may have been this one: "Don't worry about the NRA, they're on our side. Half of you are so afraid of the NRA, there's nothing to be afraid of."

That's not quite what the NRA's rhetoric sounds like right now. As one host on NRA TV put it the other day in an appeal for donors: "Join the fight that we are waging right now to push back against the evil forces that literally want to disarm Americans."

And the truth is, the NRA is already pushing back hard on Mr. Trump's suggestions for gun-law reform:

  • On ABC News last weekend, NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch confirmed that the group opposes any increase in the minimum age for gun purchases
  • Loesch also said they oppose Mr. Trump's call for a ban on bump stocks, the accessory that helped the Las Vegas shooter run up the body count

And there's no evidence the NRA position on another presidential talking point - expanding the scope of background checks on gun buyers - has changed from the outright opposition it's been stating for years.

"There's no bigger fans of the Second Amendment than me, and there's no bigger fan of the NRA," said the president. "These guys are great patriots, they're great people, and they want to do something."

Don't worry, be happy? The jury is still very much out.

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