2024 Voter Guide: Where the Presidential Candidates Stand on Gun Control

Updated May 26, 2024

What do the 2024 presidential candidates think about gun control, and how do their stances compare?

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the right to bear arms. In recent years, gun death rates and mass shootings have led some to call into question how guns should be regulated.

Here's where the candidates fall.

Topics:

• Gun Ownership
  • Background Checks
  • Red-Flag Laws
  • National Registry
• Weapons Ban
• Armed Personnel in Schools

Gun Ownership

Joe Biden (D)

Biden proposed a national gun registry during his 2020 campaign and planned to regulate the possession of existing assault weapons through registration reform: “This will give individuals who now possess assault weapons or high-capacity magazines two options: sell the weapons to the government, or register them under the National Firearms Act," the plan reads. He signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, which expanded background check requirements, created new criminal offenses for gun trafficking and straw purchases (buying guns on behalf of others), increased the scope of restrictions for buying guns to individuals with domestic violence convictions, and provided additional support and funding for mental and behavioral health programs. Biden signed an executive order in March 2023 which expanded screening procedures for gun sales and closed loopholes in background checks, “moving the U.S. as close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation.” The executive order was also intended to increase public awareness about gun violence, to increase red-flag laws and to “address the loss or theft of firearms during shipping.” The Biden administration has taken action to stop illegal gun trafficking, prevent the sale of ghost guns and promote safe gun storage. Biden formed the Office of Gun Violence Prevention in September 2023. One of the office’s objectives is to help states pass red flag laws. He called on Congress to repeal “gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability.” Gun manufacturers are protected from legal action if their products are used illegally or criminally. However, gun manufacturers can be held liable and sued for actions including negligence, selling guns to people who they know intend to commit a crime and damages resulting from defects in gun design. He also encouraged Congress to pass a national red flag law, because red flag laws have been passed in less than half of U.S. states.

Donald Trump (R)

Trump pledged, during his 2016 campaign, to "get rid of gun-free zones on schools" and military bases, saying, "you have to... It gets signed on my first day. You know what a gun-free zone is to a sicko? That's bait." As president, his administration planned to outlaw bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic firearms to fire continuously—a move that the National Rifle Association (NRA) was “disappointed” with. In 2018, he encouraged increasing the minimum age to buy a long gun from 18 to 21 years old and said he could convince the NRA to accept the restriction. “I told them, we’re going to have to toughen’ gun laws," said Trump, "I really think the NRA wants to do what’s right." He designated gun businesses to be “critical infrastructure” during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to remain open. Additionally, he loosened regulation on the export of firearms. Pertaining to red-flag laws, he reversed an Obama-era rule that would have assisted in enforcing existing restrictions of background checks. In the past, he has expressed openness to strengthening background checks, telling reporters, “I don’t want to put guns into the hands of mentally unstable people or people with rage or hate, sick people. I don’t want to — I’m all in favor of [background checks]... I think we can bring up background checks like we’ve never had before. I think both Republican and Democrat are getting close to a bill.” Trump said, in response to gun violence, that, "This is not a gun problem…This is a mental health problem, this is a social problem, this is a cultural problem, this is a spiritual problem." He also said, while campaigning for the 2024 Presidential Election, he would reverse all gun control measures that the Biden administration passed and fire the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives if elected. He told NRA supporters that “No president has fought harder to protect your Second Amendment rights;" however, Trump also said he would call on local law enforcement to “strictly enforc[e] existing gun laws against convicted felons.”

Marianne Williamson (D)

In 2020, Williamson said, "I support gun safety measures including universal background checks, a federal red flag law, a ban on assault weapons and bump stocks, and a requirement to have a license to own a gun. We need a license to drive cars, we should require the same for guns. I support a waiting period for gun purchases, and reinstatement of funds to research gun violence. I will establish a U.S. Department of Peace. Gun violence is a symptom and we must also address the cause. Many elements foster violent behavior, and I will lead a national effort to create a nonviolent society."

Cornel West (Ind.)

He has emphasized that discussions on gun control must consider historical context: “I knew that a discourse about gun control has so much to do about context. It has so much to do with how they have them and what kind of guns they are.” He has said that “I don’t think guns are the place to start. That’s why I’m an abolitionist about poverty, indecent housing, unavailable healthcare, and not enough jobs with a living wage.” He supports tightened requirements to own a firearm, as well as red-flag laws.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Ind.)

Kennedy Jr. expressed doubts on the viability of gun control, stating he does not think that “there's anything that we can meaningfully do to reduce the trade and the ownership of guns,” after the Supreme Court ruling that allowed the concealed carry of handguns in public areas. However, in a statement on X, he previously called the NRA “a terror group.” In response to red-flag laws, he stated, “I’m not going to take people’s guns away.” Kennedy’s website states, “[Kennedy] understands how deeply integrated guns are in American culture, especially in rural areas. It is madness to try to take away the guns.” His website also states that he would allow Congress to make decisions about gun control.

"Weapons Ban" 

RELATED: Dispelling Confusion Around the Term "Assault Weapons"

Joe Biden (D)

In an op-ed that he wrote, Biden called on Congress to ban all "assault weapons" and high-capacity magazines: “Congress must act, including by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring gun owners to securely store their firearms, requiring background checks for all gun sales, and repealing gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability.”

Donald Trump (R)

According to the New York Times (Lean Left bias), "Mr. Trump never pursued an assault weapons ban, though he had called for one in his 2000 book, 'The America We Deserve' — in which he also criticized Republicans for opposing even limited gun restrictions." Trump signaled support for stricter background checks in 2019 after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio but did not call on Congress to pass background check legislation. He said he was open to considering a weapons ban in 2018, but he said in 2019 that he saw “no political appetite” in Congress for a ban on assault rifles, doubting its ability to pass. 

Marianne Williamson (D)

"Assault weapons are used as weapons of war, and should not be sold to private citizens," reads Williamson's website.

Cornel West (Ind.)

No explicit stance found, but West once criticized the New York Police Department for "carrying assault weapons" during raids.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Ind.)

He has said that, “I believe in the Constitution and I'm not going to take everyone's guns away.” He also has stated that he would support a "bipartisan assault weapons ban," according to The Hill (Center bias).

Armed Personnel in Schools

Joe Biden (D)

Biden has said he is open to increasing security in schools but not to “hardening” schools with firearms. In response to the idea of armed personnel in schools, he said, “Teaching should not be a life-threatening profession, and educators should not need to be armed to feel safe in the classroom.”

Donald Trump (R)

Trump has suggested arming school teachers as a response to shootings, giving them extra pay as an incentive, “You give them a little bit of a bonus, so practically for free, you have now made the school into a hardened target,” and he clarified that teachers would require special training in order to be armed, saying, “I don’t want teachers to have guns, I want certain highly adept people, people that understand weaponry, guns — if they really have that aptitude.” Trump has also suggested that buildings should have single point of entry, stronger fencing, and metal detectors, and he pledged in his 2016 campaign to end gun-free zones in schools.

Marianne Williamson (D)

No stance found.

Cornel West (Ind.)

No stance found.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Ind.)

Kennedy Jr. said in 2023, “when I was a kid, there were schools that I went to where we had shooting clubs, and the kids brought their rifles to school and practiced. Kids always had access to guns.” He has expressed belief in gun control but has argued that guns are not the main problem with gun violence, calling for more research on the correlation with SSRIs (and other psychiatric drugs) and gun violence in schools. Kennedy also expressed openness to increased security in schools and implied the potential use of weapons, saying, “We have to stop school shootings…if it comes down to protecting schools like we protect airlines, we’ll do that.”

This blog was written by Harry Ding, Content Intern (Center bias). It was reviewed and edited by Editor-in-chief Henry A. Brechter (Center bias), News Assistant Malayna J. Bizier (Right bias), Director of Bias Ratings Julie Mastrine (Lean Right bias), News Editor/Content Designer Joseph Ratliff (Lean Left bias), and Content Intern Kai Lincke (Lean Left bias).