Will President Trump Overturn Gun Control Laws? 'Our Time Is Now,' NRA Says

Donald Trump's election to the White House means gun owners time has come, according to the executive vice president and CEO of the National Rifle Association. Complimenting NRA members on achieving “a truly extraordinary, historic, even heroic accomplishment” by helping Trump and his vice president pick, Mike Pence, win, Wayne LaPierre stated, “Our time is now.”

“Gun owners made this election happen,” LaPierre said in a video released on the NRA YouTube page Monday. He blamed Hillary Clinton’s loss on her making gun control a central issue during the campaign and said the mistake put her on a “permanent political vacation.”

Gun control advocates argue that the NRA has helped make guns too accessible. There were 372 mass shootings across the nation in 2015, with 475 fatalities and 1,870 injured, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker, which keeps track of mass shootings. In all, some 13,286 people were killed by guns in the U.S. last year.

But LaPierre said gun owners deserve gratitude from the entire nation and vowed that with Trump in office the NRA would work on securing Second Amendment freedom for future generations. He also warned that gun rights were still in jeopardy because of the more than 300 anti-gun judges Obama has appointed and billionaires like Michael Bloomberg who donate to candidates in local elections who want strict gun laws.

NRA Vice President Pete Brownell also praised the election results this week. He said Trump’s win will be a relief following Obama’s administration, NPR reported.

"We've always had to be looking out for how our rights are going to be taken away from us as individuals; how our constitutional rights are going to be impinged upon," Brownell said. "Now, the ball's going to be in our court," he stated.

Under Trump’s administration, the NRA wants the president-elect to revise the federal background check process, end gun-free military zones, allow all gun owners to have a concealed carry permit and remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act, allowing gun owners easier access to silencers.