Gun control: Both sides weigh Trump effect

A gun free zone sign is posted at Palo Duro High School Monday, Sept. 10, 2012. A gun free zone sign is posted at Palo Duro High School Monday, Sept. 10, 2012. Photo: Michael Schumacher / Associated Press Photo: Michael Schumacher / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Gun control: Both sides weigh Trump effect 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

WASHINGTON — Gun control was an uphill climb in Congress well before Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election.

But now that Trump is less than a month away from taking the oath of office, that climb arguably has turned into vertical scaling of a sheer rock face with rope and harness.

Trump benefited from the National Rifle Association’s endorsement and airing of televised ads that characterized Democrat Hillary Clinton as a threat to Second Amendment rights.

As a candidate, Trump picked up the beat.

“I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools,’’ he said early in his campaign. “My first day, it gets signed, OK? My first day. There’s no more gun-free zones.”

Trump on Tuesday released a video outlining Day One actions on energy, immigration, national security and other issues, but nothing on guns. Even so, gun-control supporters are digging in for long-term trench warfare.

“This was never going to be a walk in the park,’’ said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “There were going to be obstacles no matter who controlled the White House or Congress.’’

Despite Trump’s win, voters in California, Nevada and Washington state approved gun-control ballot initiatives. Voters in Maine rejected a proposed measure.

State at heart of debate

Guns continue to be a key issue in Connecticut. The fourth anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting is Dec. 14, and advocates would be particularly sensitive to any effort to reverse federal law that effectively bans guns at or near schools, with exceptions for law enforcement.

Trump “clearly doesn’t have a mandate,’’ said Po Murray, head of Newtown Alliance, which is chartering a bus to travel to Washington for the Sandy Hook anniversary. “He made many campaign promises he may not be able to keep. Campaigning is one thing, but governing is another.’’

Last summer, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy led a nearly 15-hour Senate filibuster to force votes on expanding gun-purchase background checks and “no fly, no buy’’ — a ban on gun sales to anyone on the government’s terrorism no-fly list.

The series of votes on Democratic and Republican alternatives yielded no legislation, but it put Murphy on the map as a leader on guns.

“I understand there’s not going to be a lot of appetite from Republicans to move on these issues,’’ Murphy said. “This is going to be much more of an outside game than an inside game. We learned in 2013 (with the initial post-Newtown Senate defeat of expanded background checks) that we’re not going to win fights in Washington until we have outside opposition to the NRA.’’

Interstate reciprocity

Trump’s victory is likely to embolden the NRA to vigorously pursue its own legislative agenda. Item No. 1 is interstate reciprocity for those carrying concealed weapons outside their home state.

Under such a law, a state like Connecticut with strict limitations on concealed carry would be forced to honor out-of-state visitors who are carrying under the less-strict laws of places like Texas and Arizona, which doesn’t even require a permit or gun-safety training.

Congress has rejected previous attempts to pass this law.

Gun-control advocates flinch at the thought of such expansion, warning that an escalation of gun use would do nothing to reduce the 30,000 or so annual deaths from gunfire.

But their gun-rights opponents see these laws and the Trump presidency in general as harbingers of a new era for gun owners, both in and out of Connecticut.

“With Donald Trump as president, we feel a little more relaxed — as opposed to what we would have gotten under Hillary Clinton,’’ said Scott Wilson, president of Connecticut Citizens Defense League.

Trump has promised to appoint a Supreme Court justice in the mold of pro-gun Justice Antonin Scalia, whose seat has gone unfilled since he died in February. Senate Republicans stalled consideration of President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland.

That court vacancy, plus the possibility of one or two more in the next four years leaves Wilson confident that even in Connecticut — a state with some of the nation’s toughest gun laws — the pendulum could swing the other way.

The CCDL earlier this year lost its appeal of the state’s assault-weapons ban when the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. But that may change, Wilson said.

“I think it’s a just a matter of time before a case makes it to the Supreme Court,’’ he said. “And hopefully, in a few years I can walk into gun store in Connecticut and buy a brand new, shiny AR-15 with a magazine that contains more than 10 rounds.’’

But Blumenthal, Murphy and other Democratic lawmakers say public opinion is on their side.

“It’s clearer to Republicans that being a 100 percent supporter of the NRA in a swing state means you are a loser,’’ Murphy said. “That wasn’t the case two years ago.’’

In any case, gun-safety proponents insist they will stand and fight.

dan@hearstdc.com