Ronald Reagan Supported Gun Control Laws

Posted on December 17, 2012 at 11:44 am by Bob Cesca

Another sign the conservative movement as skewed farther to the right since Reagan who, still, was pretty conservative. Reagan’s legacy on gun control:

Signed the Mulford Act in California — prohibited the carrying of firearms in public. Obviously, this was before he was shot in 1981.

Supported a 15-day waiting period for purchasing firearms.

Supported the passage of the Brady Bill, which included a 7-day waiting period and background checks, and even lobbied George H.W. Bush to support the law.

Also:

“With the right to bear arms comes a great responsibility to use caution and common sense on handgun purchases. And it’s just plain common sense that there be a waiting period to allow local law-enforcement officials to conduct background checks on those who wish to purchase handguns.”

The NRA of today would’ve spent millions to destroy him.

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  • j238

    Ronald Reagan, as President-elect, described John Lennon’s murder as a tragedy, but said that was not a reason to tighten gun laws.

    His endorsement of the Brad Law happened on the anniversary of the day he was shot. The 10-year anniversary.

  • http://mdblanche.myopenid.com/ mdblanche

    I believe the motivation for passing the Mulford Act was the decision by the Black Panthers to start exercizing their 2nd Amendment rights.

  • bphoon

    Reagan also did more than any modern president to gut the mental health infrastructure in this country. Mental health is but one factor in this debate but one that has had an influence in some mass shootings, particularly, it seems, over the past couple of years.

  • Victor_the_Crab

    But Republicans have proven they can easily bend their idol’s position to fit into anything they want. See Grover Norquist champion Reagan as a tax fighter despite him raising taxes in six of his eight years as president.