Image: from Mila Joy X@Milajoy
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the withdrawal of Matt Gaetz, President Donald Trump swiftly nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Department of Justice. While Bondi brings a traditional prosecutor’s résumé, her past actions regarding gun control legislation during her tenure in Florida have raised alarms among core Second Amendment supporters, leading to skepticism over her commitment to the right to keep and bear arms.
Bondi, who served as Florida’s Attorney General from 2011 to 2019, has a record reflecting the state’s formerly “purple” political climate. Her history presents a stark contrast to the hardened conservative stances now expected from federal Republican appointees.
Gun rights advocates point specifically to two instances where Bondi’s office took positions widely viewed as “anti-Second Amendment.”
Firstly, in 2013, Attorney General Bondi actively defended Florida’s state law banning citizens from openly carrying guns. Sean Caranna, Executive Director of the gun rights organization Florida Carry, Inc., publicly criticized her actions, saying at the time, “We have not seen a Florida Attorney General take such drastic anti-Second Amendment positions since 1987… This is an attempted end-run around the Constitution that she swore an oath to protect.”
Nominee for AG, Pam Bondi’s Opening statement:
“If confirmed, I will fight every day to restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice and each of its components. The partisanship, the weaponization will be gone. America will have one tier of justice for all.” pic.twitter.com/NujZZr6Rlc
— America (@america) January 15, 2025
Secondly, in the aftermath of the tragic 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Bondi supported anti-gun legislation signed into law by then-Governor Rick Scott. These measures included the establishment of so-called “red flag laws” in the state and the raising of the age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21.
Defending her position at the time, Bondi stated, “This bill is not perfect, and sadly it will not bring back the 17 lives lost… but the safety of our children is not a political issue, it’s simply the right thing to do.” The National Rifle Association (NRA) subsequently sued Florida over the age-limit law, a lawsuit currently pending in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Bondi’s nomination comes against a backdrop of complex signaling from the Republican federal leadership. While gun rights are thriving at the state level, with 29 states now allowing concealed carry without a government license, Republican leaders at the federal level have a less clear record.
President Trump, despite frequently speaking out in favor of the Second Amendment, has taken contradictory actions, most notably issuing an unconstitutional ban on bump stocks (which was later struck down by the Supreme Court). Furthermore, the Republican Party raised concerns among activists by scrubbing all Second Amendment protections from their official party platform at the Republican National Convention in July.
With the incoming Attorney General having a less-than-stellar history on gun rights and the President himself possessing a mixed record, gun owners and supporters of the Second Amendment are left with more questions than answers regarding the Department of Justice’s posture on firearms policy moving forward.