Robert Kennedy Jr. stated that he plans to respect the Second Amendment if he becomes president, vowing not to “try to take away people’s guns.”
Kennedy, who is running as an independent in the 2024 presidential election, explained on Wednesday that the Second Amendment, the right for United States citizens to arm and defend themselves, is meant to safeguard “against excessive central government power.” However, Kennedy noted that many people in the U.S. have a growing distrust that the government will protect the Second Amendment, with Kennedy stating people’s distrust is “for good reason.”
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“When I’m in the White House, I will begin the process of earning back that trust,” Kennedy wrote. “That means ending the censorship and surveillance, the secrecy and lies, and cleaning out the corruption.”
Let me be clear on guns. As President I will respect the Second Amendment, and I will not try to take away people’s guns.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) October 18, 2023
Kennedy’s statement on X, the social media platform once known as Twitter, comes after he previously claimed in 2018 that the National Rifle Association is “a terror group.” The candidate’s statement was made after the Parkland school shooting in February 2018.
Parkland students are right; the NRA is a terror group
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) February 17, 2018
Kennedy was asked about his previous statement on the NRA during an interview with Sean Hannity on Oct. 10, in which he explained that he did not recall ever calling the NRA a terror group. He also stated he does not consider the NRA a terror group and that he supports the Second Amendment.
The presidential candidate’s promise to protect the Second Amendment comes as many Democratic lawmakers have sought for ways to ban firearms in the U.S.
On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris took to social media to call on Congress to send “an assault weapons ban” to the desk of President Joe Biden.
Weapons of war have no place on the streets of a civil society.
We need an assault weapons ban. Congress, send it to @JoeBiden’s desk.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 16, 2023
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) shared Harris’s post on social media, stating that the U.S. “needs a ban on communist politicians like you.”
Earlier this month, Kennedy announced that he would no longer run for president under the Democratic Party, opting to run as an independent instead. Kennedy’s independent run sets up a potential three-way election in 2024 between him, the Republican nominee, and the Democratic nominee.