The 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC) came to a close Thursday night. From start to finish, gun policy was entirely left off of the main stage–even during Donald Trump’s hour-and-a-half keynote.
Former President Trump officially accepted the party’s nomination to attempt to retake the White House. He took the stage for his first speech since a would-be assassin nearly took his life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last weekend. His remarks began with an uncharacteristically stayed recounting of his harrowing near-death experience and paid tribute to the man who was killed in the attack before pivoting to accepting the nomination.
“Tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for President of the United States,” Trump said.
The latter half of his address saw the former President revert to his typical stump speech, featuring meandering and often off-script comments on his favorite policy subjects, including immigration, trade, foreign policy, and inflation.
Notably, however, gun policy went entirely unmentioned in the 92-minute speech.
The lack of discussion surrounding gun politics from the Republican Presidential nominee comes after his party has made several recent moves downplaying the gun policy. It officially adopted a new 2024 platform this week that stripped all of its previous gun policy pledges and only mentions the right to keep and bear arms once. The convention also did not feature any speakers representing gun-rights groups on the main event stage any of the four nights. By comparison, the 2016 platform featured a series of specific policy promises. Chris Cox, the former head of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (ILA), also spoke at the 2016 RNC.
Instead, details surrounding the party’s priorities on gun rights were largely relegated to a one-hour session hosted by the United States Concealed Carry Association at Pfister Hotel near the convention Tuesday morning. The session consisted of a panel discussion about the party’s position on guns featuring three congressional Republicans and Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita.
“I think what we’ll see is a continuation of supporting and defending the Second Amendment and where that really comes into play is the judiciary, the appointment of judges,” LaCivita said, according to the Wisconsin Examiner, when asked what a second Trump administration would do for gun rights. “And so that is clearly, you know, one of the largest impacts that President Trump had clearly during his first term was a remake of the judiciary.”
LaCivita also suggested that gun owners don’t vote—echoing a sentiment Trump shared with NRA members at the group’s annual meeting in May—calling it “mind-blowing,” according to Courthouse News Service.
The most energizing moment of the convention for gun-rights advocates came when Trump officially tapped Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his vice-presidential nominee Monday afternoon. Groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America (GOA) immediately celebrated the pick.
“Senator Vance has been an unwavering supporter of constitutional freedoms, especially the right to keep and bear arms,” Randy Kozuch, Chairman of the NRA Political Victory Fund (PVF), said. “In the U.S. Senate, he has consistently stood against the Biden-Harris gun control agenda.”
“Senator Vance is a friend of the American gun owner, one who will fiercely defend our Second Amendment rights,” Erich Pratt, GOA’s Senior VP, said. “We are thrilled with his selection and look forward to removing the anti-gunner-in-chief from the White House.”
Gun-control groups had a similarly strong reaction to the pick.
“Donald Trump’s pick for Vice President has a record of undermining the gun violence prevention movement,” Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action, said in a press release.
“Republicans and Democrats alike are concerned about gun violence in this country, yet Donald Trump and JD Vance have consistently put gun industry profits over the safety of American communities,” Giffords Executive Director Emma Brown said. “We owe it to future generations to keep this pair out of the White House.”
Notably, Vance’s official acceptance speech Wednesday night did not discuss his record on the Second Amendment. Instead, he referred to guns just once in an anecdote about his grandmother.
“Now, my Mamaw died shortly before I left for Iraq, in 2005. And when we went through her things, we found 19 loaded handguns,” he said. “They were stashed all over her house. Under her bed, in her closet. In the silverware drawer. And we wondered what was going on, and it occurred to us that towards the end of her life, Mamaw couldn’t get around very well. And so, this frail old woman made sure that no matter where she was, she was within arms’ length of whatever she needed to protect her family. That’s who we fight for. That’s American spirit.”
However, Trump’s speech lacked even a pro-gun anecdote or aside promoting gun rights.
