Donald Trump supporters say they are buying guns in anticipation of the fallout from the US Election.
Speaking to the Express as the race for the White House between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump nears its nail-biting conclusion in rural Wisconsin, Republican Party members said they felt America’s Second Amendment, “the right to keep and bear arms”, was under threat.
“I don’t own a gun. But I’m going to get one because I think I’m going to need one pretty soon,” said Patty Anderson, who jokingly added that she was part of ‘grannies for Trump’.
“It is our Second Amendment right to own a gun. I’ve taken a gun safety class myself,” she added. “Lots of people around here do because there’s a lot of hunting.”
Her feelings were echoed by another native of northern Wisconsin who wished only to be known as Brian.
“I’ve never owned a gun,” he explained. “[But] we have to have something to protect us, I consider the Constitution was written down to protect us from our own government.
“If our government gets too big then we don’t have any democracy or freedom.
“[I bought a gun] because our whole society has changed because of the Biden administration.
“I was a Democrat for a really long time. Even in 2020 I voted for Hillary [Clinton]. But now my eyes are opened to it.”
Lorna Button and her husband Carlyle also felt that their right to own firearms was threatened by a Kamala Harris government.
“The Second Amendment gives us the right to keep and bear arms in case the government wants to take them,” she said. “Kamala wants to take [our] guns.”
“She says she would like to do away with guns,” Carlyle chimed in. “But it’s a right that we have.”
Guns are one of the major ‘wedge’ issues dividing America as one of the closest elections in decades gets underway.
In areas where there is an even split between Democrats and Republicans, the polarisation on these issues has caused bitter feuds between neighbours as the Express discovered first hand in a visit to Door County in the swing state of Wisconsin.
