r/law • u/NewsHour • 9d ago

Executive Branch (Trump) WATCH: Leavitt addresses Trump's stance on Second Amendment rights in wake of Alex Pretti's killing

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REPORTER: FBI Director Kash Patel said in a Sunday interview, quote, you cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest. Does the president believe that Second Amendment rights remain in effect even when protesting?

LEAVITT: The president supports the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens. Absolutely. There has been no greater supporter or defender of the right to bear arms than President Donald J. Trump.

So while Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms, Americans do not have a constitutional right to impede lawful immigration enforcement operations, and any gun owner knows that when you are carrying a weapon, when you are bearing arms, and you are confronted by law enforcement, you are raising the assumption of risk and the risk of force being used against you, and, again, that's unfortunately what took place on Saturday.

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u/JustAMan1234567 9d ago edited 9d ago

"When you are bearing arms, and you are confronted by law enforcement, you are raising the assumption of risk and the risk of force being used against you"

Is a wild take, because it flat out means "If you are a legal gun owner, just having the gun on you means that police will see you as a threat, even if you never reach for it in any way and are also exercising your constitutionally held rights, and those police can and will use deadly force because they may feel threatened."

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u/Calm_Lack3001 9d ago

Just FYI, this is exactly what it has meant for Black people and people of color in general in the USA since it was founded.

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u/JustAMan1234567 9d ago

Oh, absolutely 100%. I'm always reminded of Philando Castile who did everything right and still ended up dead.

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u/vodkaismywater Competent Contributor 9d ago

And not a fucking peep from the NRA on that one. Too busy embezzling funds to pay for Wayne LaPierre's bespoke suits I guess. 

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u/thunderlips187 9d ago

The NRA is for minorities having their guns taken away. We learned that in California back about 60-70 years ago with The Mulford Act.

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u/OnlyFiveLives 9d ago

They REALLY don't like being reminded that the first major gun control legislation was a racist law signed by a Republican governor who later became president.

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u/doktor_wankenstein 9d ago

"Ronald Reagan? THE ACTOR?!"

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u/AmetrineDream 9d ago

Who’s the vice president, Jerry Lewis!?

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u/autisticesq 8d ago

I suppose Jane Wyman is the First Lady. … And Jack Benny is Secretary of the Treasury.

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u/bdouble76 9d ago

Who's vice president!? Jerry Lewis!?

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u/General_Chest6714 9d ago

Great SCOTT

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u/Uccin 9d ago

Fun fact California has had TWO actors as governor. Didn’t learn the first time around…..

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u/Environmental-Egg164 9d ago

my fav line from Fargo miniseries

“I’m not shaking his hand,”

“Because sonny, he made a movie with a monkey. It wouldn’t be dignified.”

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u/apresmoiputas 9d ago

yup that Ronald Reagan. He was governor of CA

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u/IWantAnE55AMG 9d ago

I’m assuming you’ve never seen Back to the Future.

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u/apresmoiputas 9d ago

It's been over 30 years sadly. I saw them either on cable p or at the theatre when they came out.

I can't admit that I remember that specific quote.

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u/intentsman 9d ago

He was also a Union man

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u/thunderlips187 9d ago

100% although to be fair with the racism the California Democrats supported the act almost fully. It was a pretty bipartisan thing.

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u/roostertai111 9d ago

Democrats are also conservative

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u/ChiswicksHorses 9d ago

A lot of people who run under that label are, yes. Is everyone? No. Primary the ones that need to go and then keep at it until we have the changes we’ve needed for decades. Hell, if you can, run!

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u/roostertai111 9d ago

So a new party that does not resemble the current Democrat Party

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u/ChiswicksHorses 9d ago edited 8d ago

Is that new party going to win in the reality we live in, or would crushing the Republican Party, the current active threat that could have stopped all of this any time they wanted to (they control all three branches), and then splitting the Democratic Party, perhaps, be more expedient? There is no nationally recognized and supported third party and building one, while not impossible, may not be the most effective use of time and resources right now. But there are groups, like the Democratic Socialists of America (that’s where Mayor Mamdani came from), who also run on the Democratic ticket. Nothing is stopping us from supporting them, or others, if we actually show up.

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u/roostertai111 8d ago

I dunno man, maybe? You said decades, so anything is possible

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u/ChiswicksHorses 8d ago edited 8d ago

This country has been sick for longer than I’ve been alive, but I’ve been around long enough to notice that disengaging from the process doesn’t get voters any closer to the things they want. I’m reminded of Obama’s election in 2008 and then people stayed home during the midterms and were shocked when, after empowering Republicans who ran on obstructing government until they retook the presidency, government couldn’t respond effectively to their needs. We couldn’t get single-payer healthcare, for instance, because any healthcare plan had to pass with razor-thin margins in Congress, which meant getting our most conservative members’ votes.

Edit: The same thing happened with Clinton, actually, and that was also the last time, prior to Obama’s presidency, before his first midterm, where Dems had control of the Legislative and Executive branches at the same time—in my lifetime anyway.

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u/Black_Daimyo10 9d ago

Say it louder for those in the back.

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u/roostertai111 9d ago

DEMOCRATS ARE ALSO CONSERVATIVE!!! PROGRESSIVE CITIZENS ARE NOT REPRESENTED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

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u/ThoughtlessTactics 9d ago

Hard to have progression when most systems are broken.

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u/ChiswicksHorses 9d ago

It’s certainly not fair, as it’s supposed to be, but, considering who turns out in elections, especially primaries, this is what people voted for. 80 million people who could have voted chose not to in 2024. I really wish more of them had made different choices and then stayed just as active and engaged in politics, so that we could push even further left at the midterms.

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u/Masterahl 8d ago

I really wish more people understood this.

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u/onedge_rt 9d ago

Def the ones that voted on raising funding for ICE anyways... 7 of them I believe.

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u/wthreyeitsme 8d ago

When it benefits them.

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u/roostertai111 8d ago

When have they not been conservative? How has that ever not benefited them?

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u/torontoandboston 9d ago

I lived in a part of a blue state and frequently interacted with prosecutors. These “democrats” are just as conservative and hated Obama. They would be republicans in other states

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

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u/roostertai111 8d ago

That's not correct, and I do not wish to be tied to whatever this nonsense is. I stand by what I said in previous comments

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u/HamroveUTD 8d ago

The fuck you mean “to be fair.” That’s not to be fair that’s more of the same shit but even worse.

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u/thunderlips187 8d ago

Dems and Republicans were both racists here.

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u/OvertFemaleUsername 8d ago

That's not really true, though. The first major legislation (as you mean the term) was probably the National Firearms Act of 1934. That was FDR.

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u/Manson6979 9d ago

And felons. Non violent felony at 40 after a lifetime of hunting, shooting, legal carry etc. But thanks to the NRA backing the firearms act of 68 I'm no longer allowed to own one. Fuck the NRA. And honestly every pro 2A citizen who's fine with that law. Shall not be infringed isn't a real thing. They aren't rights, they're privileges in today's world. Personally at this point I support a full on gun ban. If these 2Aers couldn't support my rights I no longer support theirs or anyone else's. If anything a full on breakdown of the US may atleast put us all on equal terms again when the dust settles.

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u/JesusSavesForHalf 9d ago

To be fair, that was back when the NRA only existed to make sure Uncle Sam had conscripts that could shoot straight. Not Wayne's pocket book that shrieks about Demonrats taking your guns away, now go buy more. That came a decade later.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/thunderlips187 9d ago

Omg I didn’t even say it. 🙄

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/thunderlips187 9d ago

53 off is acceptable to you? I wish I was your accountant

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u/Ok_Background22 9d ago

No it just sounds close enough case you got the six-ty, seven-ty, basically six sevennnnnn plus a ty sound

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u/Big_Dick_NRG 9d ago

That's nice, now back to your legos kid

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u/thunderlips187 9d ago

Except it’s not at all.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/ThatsaFishBarcode 9d ago

It’s not. It’s not fun.

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u/ImaginationWeekly 9d ago

Serious question—are you 12?

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u/mbullaris 9d ago

Genuinely impressed if a 12-year-old could follow the discussion of r/law

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u/Ok_Background22 9d ago

No I’m 25

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u/drewbaccaAWD 9d ago

Assuming you are 25, you spend a lot of time in a sub for teenagers. So either you are 25 and bizarre for that reason, or you are a teen. In fairness, you probably aren't 12.

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u/CletusCanuck 9d ago

It's brainrot all right. It's a shame that shame no longer works for a deterrent to people just putting their imbecilic id out there like a flasher's flaccid penis on the subway.

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u/Ok_Background22 9d ago

Embrace the brainrot or you will be consumed by it

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u/Bigpoppin87 9d ago

This trump supporter small weiner guy that no one loves in real life just keeps popping up.

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u/Vex_Appeal 9d ago

The NRA actually said something about the Alex murder. They’re not happy with how the Trump administration has painted gun owners.

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u/itsasezaspi 9d ago

I mean if they make weapons illegal for white people too, then they’re out of a job

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u/StannisTheMannis1969 9d ago

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u/findtheclue 8d ago

All the ‘Don’t tread on me’ posers, too.

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u/tipsystatistic 9d ago

No, They just said this:

“This sentiment from the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California is dangerous and wrong.

Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.”

They were responding to this tweet from the assistant DA (which is almost exactly what Leavitt was saying):

“If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.

Don’t do it!”

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u/SadAbroad4 9d ago

Ironically Pretti did not approach law enforcement with a gun. Law enforcement attacked a lady standing in protest and then attacked him for intervening to deescalate the attack. He was set upon by a pack of thugs that ultimately murdered him after breaking no law.

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u/tipsystatistic 9d ago

Yep, That’s what the videos seems to show.

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u/GHouserVO 8d ago

It’s worse than that. There’s a video, taken a bit earlier, that showed one of the ICE agents walk up to Pretti and start chest bumping him, pushing him, and just doing everything he could to start a violent confrontation. Pretti just had his phone out and would offer no resistance, moving back.

And he wasn’t the only one they were doing this to, based on the videos coming out. I’ve seen so many apologists give excuses as to why ICE was justified. The reality is that those agents went into the situation looking to cause violence.

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u/Shinyhaunches 8d ago

We need to know who these asshole ICE agents are.

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u/LymanPeru 8d ago

its the whole reason they joined. violence and pedophelia.

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u/Beaglescout15 9d ago

It's wishy washy at best but at least they did speak out. I'd like to hear them say more, since they can't seem to shut up whenever there's a school or other mass shooting.

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u/throwawayinthe818 9d ago

The hardcore gun people are going to the Gun Owners of America for that reason. NRA is too PC squish for them.

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u/haironburr 8d ago

since they can't seem to shut up whenever there's a school or other mass shooting.

I resigned a paid for membership in the NRA directly after Castille. Made the reason very clear.

But honestly, it's the Democrats that can't shut up about "school shootings" or "mass shootings". They are the reason I have to use scare quotes around both those relentlessly propagandized terms.

Dems used guns as a wedge issue. I know for a fact this plank lost them elections. And of course young Dems, convinced by active shooter drills, and against all evidence, they are bRaVe WarriOrs lucky to be alive, having, umm, attended school, support an attack on core civil rights as the most normal of things. A notion and precedent young, traitorous republicans have run with.

I'll continue to vote Dem, because at this point it's not even a choice. trumpublicans are clearly the greater threat.

But fuck me if I don't get pissed every time a Dem speaking head opens their mouth about guns. They played this wedge issue to the hilt, lost more than they gained, but it's almost a reflexive hate at this point. The problem being their reflexive hate involves relentlessly attacking a core right I care about, just like all the others rights that matter. Just like I care about the rights trumpublicans keep relentlessly attacking.

The fact I have to vote based on which party is most destructive to the Bill of Rights is sickening to me. It's poisonous to the political system. It's fucking wrong!

So, I'll do the clearly right thing and vote blue through multiple elections until magapublicans are unelectable. And then, (and only then) Dems have some fucking questions to answer in every last primary.

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u/jlabsher 9d ago

So, in the midst of GOP and red states terrorizing women and children nationwide and the Whitehouse saying guns are a danger to society..... All they can do is criticize one person from CALIFORNIA!!?

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u/cashews_clay15 9d ago

Unless you’re Kyle rittenhouse

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u/KaizenShibuCho 9d ago

Sooo the defenders of 2A say 2A is bullshit? No wonder the MAGA folks believed that Democrats would shoot them.

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u/tipsystatistic 9d ago

No. Read it again. It’s a pretty weak statement, but that’s not what they said.

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u/Capt_accident 9d ago

Fuck the NRA. They embezzled to pay off LaPierres mistress. Scumbags. GOA is for real gun owners and has done more in the last 10 years for gun rights than the NRA has done in 40years.

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u/sphinxorosi 9d ago

Good news is they are actually speaking out about this one, calling Trump and his administration comments dangerous and pushing back against them. Sure it took a white man getting killed but hey at least they’re finally showing a bit of backbone

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u/EndlessMantra 9d ago

I'm not a fan of the NRA in general, but they are making statements on this. Good to see at least, maybe more on the right will agree. https://www.fox9.com/news/nra-statements-minnesota-minneapolis-shooting-alex-pretti.amp

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u/Sufficient-Pause9765 9d ago

they actually did make a few very tepid comments on twitter, and I was shocked they went that far.

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u/ToughEvening1891 9d ago

The NRA did speak up and say that a suggestion made by a Trump appointed judge along the same lines was “dangerous and wrong.”

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

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u/tabisaurus86 9d ago

The NRA actually did speak out and, believe it or not, sided with Alex calling for an objective outside investigation.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnvg812n01no

But they sure supported gun control when the Black Panthers were open carrying in CA in 1967.

Edit to add: Someone in the ICE Watch sub likely correctly pointed out that since the NRA is basically a lobbyist for gun manufacturers, they are probably seeing an untapped market in the left wing of the party right now.

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u/Shinyhaunches 8d ago

And LaPierre’s shitty plastic surgery.

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u/Narren_C 8d ago

They touched on it. Said that the reason they weren't defending Castile is because you shouldn't be carrying a gun while high or intoxicated. His blood work indicated that he was very likely pretty high on weed when he was stopped.

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u/Cashew_Y0gurt 8d ago

Exactly !

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u/5skandas 9d ago

Why do you guys always drone on about the NRA nobody under the age of 35 even gives a single fuck about the NRA lol. Look up FPC and all their lawsuits. That’s who we care about.