Is Ivanka Trump the White House’s secret weapon on gun control?

President Trump is stuck between a rock and hard place when it comes to the Second Amendment, and his trajectory on the issue could very well impact the 2020 election in a big way.

After a series of mass shootings rocked the nation over the course of the last two weeks, gun control advocates have been on a rampage.  They are again implying that the issue is one of access to firearms, and largely ignoring any and all attempts to bring mental health or personal responsibility into the equation.  The President himself is taking the more worldly approach, and has indicated that he is seeking to expand upon so-called “red flag” laws that allow for authorities to more quickly and easily confiscate guns from “at risk” individuals.

Of course, this strategy comes with its own perils – namely in allowing state and local governments to determine what exactly an “at risk” individual is.

To illustrate the point, let’s imagine that the British got wind of what the Founding Fathers were planning back in the 1770’s, and thusly deemed George Washington and his pals worthy of “red flags”.  Freedom doesn’t have grey areas, folks.  You’re either free or you’re not.

How the President will convince conservatives in Congress that “red flag” laws are appropriate has yet to be seen, but a new clue has emerged today in the form of First Daughter Ivanka Trump.

Axios reports that Ivanka “has quietly been calling lawmakers since the El Paso and Dayton massacres to gauge their openness to movement on gun legislation when Congress returns.”

These calls reportedly included a conversation with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who is preparing to reintroduce the universal background check bill he and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) pushed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School attack.

One of Manchin’s aides told Axios, “[Ivanka] was trying to get a sense of what bills are out there. She had him explain how they drafted the bill, where it stands and what changes needed to be made in order for it to pass.”

Several other legislators have also admitted that they’ve been contacted by Ivanka and other members of the President’s inner circle regarding the possibility of reworking our nation’s gun rights in response to these shootings.

The NRA has warned President Trump that such a move could cost him a great deal of support among conservatives, particularly in rural areas.