Gun Owners Alarmed at White House Rhetoric
Gun rights advocates are blasting the White House after recent comments they say unfairly target law-abiding Americans who carry firearms for self-defense, sparking fresh outrage from Gun Owners of America and Second Amendment defenders.
During an interview on The Todd Starnes Show, GOA Senior Vice President Eric Pratt reacted sharply to remarks from U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro that warned concealed carry holders they could face jail time or lose their firearms while visiting Washington, D.C. Watch the interview below:
“We were really disappointed by her comments,” Pratt said. “They weren’t aimed at violent criminals. They were directed to law-abiding Americans with concealed carry permits.” Pratt added that the tone of the comments mattered just as much as the substance. “When you hear her voice, there was a real aggressiveness and hostility,” he said.
Pratt argued the administration has it backwards, noting that concealed carry permit holders are among the most law-abiding citizens in the country. “Statistically even more so than police,” he said. “And therein lies the big problem with gun control. It punishes the wrong people, it targets nonviolent conduct, and it discourages good people from carrying for protection.”
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He pointed to tragic examples he says underscore the danger of gun-free zones. Pratt cited Carol Bowne of New Jersey, who he said “followed the law and was killed while waiting for permission to defend herself,” and Katie Nixon of Virginia, who “was murdered in a government building, where a no-guns policy disarmed her.” According to Pratt, “threatening peaceful Americans like this doesn’t make us safer—it puts lives at risk.”
The GOA vice president praised Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for defending the Second Amendment, agreeing with the governor’s assertion that “Second Amendment rights are not extinguished just because an American visits D.C.” Pratt said DeSantis “absolutely” has it right and used the moment to renew his call for nationwide concealed carry reciprocity.
“If you are a law-abiding American, you should be able to carry a gun anywhere in the country, including D.C., just like you can drive anywhere in the country,” Pratt said. “After all, the Second Amendment says ‘shall not be infringed.’”
Pratt also rejected comparisons between guns and cars often used by gun-control advocates. “There are far fewer restrictions on cars,” he said. “Driving is not even considered a right. It’s a privilege. So why are there more restrictions on the God-given right to protect yourself?”
GOA says the solution is for Congress to pass the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, arguing that constitutional rights should not end at state lines—and that Americans should not be treated like criminals for exercising them.