State Gun Groups Are Not Happy Trump Is Supporting Red Flag Laws

By Heath Druzin

Published August 8, 2019 at 8:27 AM MDT

President Donald Trump arrives in Ohio to visit victims of a shooting in which a gunman killed nine people, one of two mass shootings that left more than 30 dead over the weekend. Trump is being criticized by hardline gun rights groups for saying he would support some gun control in the wake of the shootings.

President Donald Trump likes , though maybe not the one he鈥檚 getting this week. After Trump expressed support for certain gun control measures, some of his staunchest allies in the gun rights community say they may abandon a man

On Monday, Trump addressed the country from the White House after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio,

鈥淲e must make sure that those judged to pose a grave risk to public safety do not have access to firearms,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淎nd if they do, those firearms can be taken through rapid due process. That is why I have called for 鈥榬ed flag鈥� laws, also known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders.鈥�

Gun rights groups were not thrilled.

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鈥淭hat鈥檚 what Trump is doing now, he is supporting that legislation,鈥� said Aaron Dorr, president of Iowa Gun Owners, . 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what鈥檚 going on and it鈥檚 a great big disaster.鈥�

Some vowed to fight a man they usually see as an ally.

鈥淲e are going to do everything we can to stop President Trump and the Senate Republicans from ever implementing this,鈥� said Idaho Second Amendment President Greg Pruett.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), or 鈥渞ed flag鈥� laws, give law enforcement the ability to temporarily confiscate guns from someone deemed a threat to themselves or others. Trump also signaled support Wednesday for , a third-rail for gun rights activists.

Other Republicans, like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fl., a 鈥渞ed flag鈥� bill. Graham even went so far as to say he is planning on

These laws receive wide support nationally. A found that 85% of Americans back a 鈥渞ed flag鈥� law. Support for background checks on all purchases is .

But that doesn鈥檛 sway those in the of gun rights activism.

鈥淲e cannot forget that guns are not the problem,鈥� Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners Of America, said in 鈥淭hey are overwhelmingly used for good.鈥�

Pratt thinks there will be more massacres if this type of gun control passes,

The NRA gave initial support for 鈥渞ed flag鈥� laws in the wake of the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, before cooling on the idea. In response to Trump鈥檚 call this week for a 鈥渞ed flag鈥� law, the g supporting restricting access to guns for those 鈥渁djudicated as a danger to themselves or others.鈥�

Group鈥檚 like Pratt鈥檚 see that position as capitulation. And they are sounding the alarm for their tens of thousands of followers.

These have been some of Trump鈥檚 most ardent supporters over the last few years.

Battleground Support

In battleground states, leaders of these groups are now suggesting gun control could doom Trump in 2020. This includes Ohio Gun Owners鈥� president, Chris Dorr.

鈥淗e, more than anybody, should know how gun owners are going to react to a betrayal like that,鈥� Dorr said in an interview with Guns & America.

President Donald Trump, center, poses with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, second from the left, and hospital staff in Dayton, Ohio, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. Trump went to Ohio following a shooting over the weekend in Dayton.

Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead / Flickr

Ohio is not only a presidential battleground state, but it has recently been ground zero in the gun control debate.

There, Republicans like Gov. Mike DeWine have expressed support in the wake of the mass shooting in Dayton.

Chris Dorr, whose brother is Iowa Gun Owners鈥� Aaron Dorr, says he had long given up on DeWine. But he never expected this from Trump.

鈥淗e literally turned around and dropped a hand grenade into the crowd that he needs the most to win,鈥� Chris Dorr said. 鈥淪tates like Ohio, and Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin.鈥�

Chris Dorr thinks a lot of gun owners will stay home next election if their guy supports anything they see as contrary to the Second Amendment. So much so that Dorr wouldn鈥檛 even consider supporting Trump if he signed a 鈥渞ed flag鈥� bill into law.

鈥淎bsolutely not, I鈥檇 walk away from him in two seconds,鈥� Dorr said.

And, while Dorr鈥檚 fellow hard-line activists, like Rocky Mountain Gun Owners director Dudley Brown, are taking to to alert followers to what they feel is a threat to the Second Amendment, they鈥檙e also soliciting donations.

, Brown urged supporters to text a specific number with the word 鈥渞edflag.鈥� Doing so shoots back a plea for money with a link to his group鈥檚 donation page.