After the two mass shootings last weekend weekend — on the campus of Brown University in Rhode Island, and at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, Australia — President Trump’s Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon amplified an article titled ‘The Weekend’s Gun Tragedies Show Why You Must Buy (Even More) Guns.’
Written by the lawyer, retired Army infantry colonel and conservative Townhall blogger Kurt Schlichter, the article asserted: “We’re not having a discussion about banning guns. There’s not going to be any gun ban. We’re not giving up our guns. You can come take them. Otherwise, kiss our collective [expletive].”
(Schlichter’s author bio concludes: “He loves military history, red meat and the Second Amendment. His favorite caliber is .45.”)
Note: Many Republicans have for decades warned that Democrats would impose a universal gun ban if given a chance. Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, President Barack Obama pushed for significant legislative changes — such as mandating universal background checks for all gun purchases and reinstating a federal ban on military-style assault weapons — but no gun ban was introduced.
Dhillon shared the link to Schlichter’s article and added, “More guns please.”
More guns please https://t.co/v6pmEGhZua
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@HarmeetKDhillon) December 15, 2025
Dhillon also amplified a post written by American Jewish activist Shabbos Kestenbaum, a political consultant for PragerU, who wrote: “Here is a sentence I never once thought in my wildest, deluded dreams I would ever say. It almost pains me to have to write it: I am planning on buying a gun. I encourage most Americans to do the same. No one is coming to protect you except you. Any advice is appreciated.”
Dhillon replied: “Arm yourselves — it’s the right of every law-abiding citizen and indeed your duty to protect your family and yourself!” The NRA reposted Dhillon’s comment and added, “It’s your God-given right!”
Arm yourselves — it’s the right of every law-abiding citizen and indeed your duty to protect your family and yourself! https://t.co/sj56xifi8L
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@HarmeetKDhillon) December 15, 2025
Note: On Monday, the NRA celebrated the DOJ’s creation of a new section under its Civil Rights Division (led by Dhillon) — the first to be dedicated to protecting the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
The gun violence prevention non-profit organization Brady — named for the Reagan-era White House Press Secretary who was shot in an assassination attempt — issued a press release saying it condemns the DOJ’s new ‘gun rights’ office, claiming that it “will endanger gun violence prevention laws” with “policies [that] are in no way inconsistent with the Second Amendment.”
Brady, which characterizes as a myth the belief that mass gun ownership increases a society’s safety, asserts: “If guns made us safer, we’d be the safest country in the world. We’re countering disinformation and educating the public so that we can create a safer America for us all, gun owners and non-gun owners alike.”
According to James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminologist, mass shootings “make up about 1% of all gun deaths in the United States.” In a typical year, Fox says, “they claim between 100 and 200 lives, compared with roughly 17,000 lost to gun homicides.”