Gary Johnson Presidential Campaign, 2016#Gun Control

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The 2016 Republican Party Platform stated support for "the right of individuals to keep and bear arms, a natural inalienable right that predates the Constitution and is secured by the Second Amendment." The Libertarian Party Platform also stated support for "the individual right recognized by the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms."

In contrast, the 2016 Democratic Party Platform called for "sensible action to address gun violence," and the Green Party Platform called for "[t]houghtful, carefully considered gun control."

Read below what Gary Johnson and the 2016 Libertarian Party Platform said about gun control.

Johnson on gun control[edit]

Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[edit]

• During an interview on June 27, 2016, with WIBC’s Tony Katz, Gary Johnson discussed a proposal backed by Democrats to prohibit individuals on the No-Fly List from purchasing firearms. Johnson said, “Well, they’re wrong because that list contains active members of Congress. That’s a list that contains you and I; it’s a list prone to error. If this is a conversation about improving the quality of that list, then ‘yes.’ Is it a conversation on how the appeals process might be (improved)—meaning you’re on the list, and you want to appeal that list because you have a need for self-protection? Self-protection doesn’t mean you’re going to buy the gun and use it, it means you’re going to buy the gun—and your ex-spouse who’s abusive knows that – and all of a sudden that’s a huge deterrent. Johnson also discussed the failures of Congress. He said, “First of all, Congress should be engaged. Congress wants to abdicate every responsibility that they’re supposed to have, and because of that, they never come under the scrutiny that should go along with their offices. They don’t do anything; they don’t submit any budgets. They just want to hold office.”^[2]

• In an interview with Reason on June 14, 2016, Johnson said that he believed the outcome of the Orlando shooting would have been “less horrific” if some of the clubgoers were armed. “I understand how so many people can believe that if you restrict this kind of weapon you can prevent this kind of incident. But there's just no evidence whatsoever to suggest that it makes us any safer, and in fact restricting guns makes things less safe, that's the camp that I'm in,” Johnson said.^[3]

• On January 19, 2016, in an interview with The Telegraph, Johnson discussed guns. He said, “I am in the camp that if you outlaw guns only the criminals are going to have guns. I supported permitting the concealed carry of handguns in New Mexico. I believe there is a lot less violence in the parking lot, as they say, because the potential perpetrator of a theft or an assault is thinking twice because someone might be carrying a gun. Restrictions on gun ownership will only encourage outlaws to have heavy ammunition and high calibre weapons."^[4]

• In May 2013, Johnson opposed a Colorado law restricting ammunition magazines. He said in a press release, "Placing an arbitrary limit on the capacity of a gun magazine is an unacceptable restriction on the rights of gun owners, manufacturers and sellers, and I am anxious to help give voters an opportunity to restore those rights. … Restricting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens does not make anyone safer. Rather, it simply empowers those who have no regard for the law and who wish to do us harm."^[5]

• Johnson wrote an op-ed in The Daily Caller on February 6, 2013, to defend gun ownership under the Constitution. He argued, "Whether it is the First Amendment right to speech or the religious freedoms granted in the Constitution, we may all find the exercise of rights to be uncomfortable, painful, and occasionally even harmful. But our nation is founded — uniquely so — on the idea that individual rights are to be protected and shielded from government control. And just like the rest of the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment doesn’t give anyone permission to commit murder. That is covered by a lot of other, perfectly constitutional, laws. Let us hope, and let us work, to make sure that the politicians don’t decide to make us 'safer' from gun violence by taking away even more of our freedoms."^[6]

• Read what other 2016 presidential candidates said about gun control.

Recent news[edit]

This section links to a Google news search for the term Gary + Johnson + Gun + Control

See also[edit]

• Gary Johnson (New Mexico)
• Gary Johnson presidential campaign, 2016

Footnotes[edit]

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