JD Vance: Mamaw Kept 19 Loaded Handguns Hidden Throughout House so One Was Always ‘Within Arm’s Length’

Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance spoke Wednesday at the Republican National Convention about his mamaw and noted she kept 19 loaded handguns hidden throughout her house so one was always “within arm’s length.”

Vance said his mamaw passed away in 2005 and that as they went through her things they discovered the handguns.

He said, “[The guns were] stashed all over her house: under her bed, in her closet, in the silverware drawer, and we wondered what was going on. And it occurred to us that toward the end of her life mamaw couldn’t get around so well. And so this frail old woman made sure that no matter where she was, she was within arm’s length of whatever she needed to protect her family.”

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) noted that when Vance campaigned against and ultimately defeated Tim Ryan (D) to win a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, he was consistently pro-Second Amendment.

NSSF pointed out that Vance’s approach to problems with crime included being sure law-abiding citizens could be armed to defend themselves and their families. When the topic switched to pushes for new gun control, Vance chose instead to insist on seeing if there were problems with preexisting gun laws that could be fixed rather than passing entirely new laws.

For example, regarding background checks, Vance said, “We need to fix the system we have that has problems as opposed to layering on a bunch of new regulations and laws on top of it. The thing that I don’t like is when you create a new background check system with new sets of regulations that go after law-abiding citizens.”

WATCH: AWR Hawkins: Universal Background Checks = Gun Registry

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..