Amid signs that some Republicans are beginning to wilt on the Second Amendment in the face of several recent shootings, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned the party of the dire consequence of such an action.
As in President Elizabeth Warren.
Speaking at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, Cruz said that if Republican lawmakers cave and agree to rigid background checks for all firearm sales, that would demoralize the party’s conservative base ahead of the 2020 election and may result in many staying home.
“If Republicans abandon the Second Amendment and demoralize millions of Americans who care deeply about Second Amendment rights, that could go a long way to electing a President Elizabeth Warren,” Cruz said on Thursday, according to The Hill.
“We’re going to see record-shattering Democratic turnout. The only element missing to ensure Democratic victory is demoralizing conservatives so they stay home. I hope we don’t do that,” the lawmaker said.
The remark came in response to a question about how conservatives would react if President Trump signed a bill similar to the 2013 gun control amendment sponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., The Hill reported.
That proposal required background checks for all sales over the internet and at gun shows.
USA Today reporter Christal Hayes shared online a quote from Cruz denouncing the current proposal from Democrats.
“The Democrats’ proposal is not about gun violence,” he says, explaining that background-check legislation wouldn’t have stopped any of the mass shootings. “It is a political objective.”
Sen. @tedcruz at Christian Science Monitor breakfast this morning on gun-control.
“The Democrats’ proposal is not about gun violence,” he says, explaining that background-check legislation wouldn’t have stopped any of the mass shootings. “It is a political objective.”— Christal Hayes (@Journo_Christal) September 12, 2019
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., went even further in his assessment of the Democratic Party’s ultimate goal.
“When you really understand what the endgame of the left is, it’s literally mandatory buy-backs or as I call it: confiscation. This is a step-by-step process for them,” said the senator, according to The Hill.
“I’ve certainly talked to people in the White House sharing the feelings of gun rights advocates in Wisconsin,” Johnson added.
Cruz spoke with the Christian Science Monitor after the breakfast and agreed that Congress “needs to act.”
“The gun control crowd saying that the only alternative to what they are pushing is do nothing – that is an empty straw man,” he said.
Pointing to legislation he introduced with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Cruz said the focus was on stopping violent gun crimes.
“And the way to do that is you target the bad guys,” he said. “You target felons and target fugitives. You target those with serious mental illness that makes them a danger to themselves and others.”
He noted that the joint proposal also “improved and strengthened the background check system,” in part by prosecuting felons and fugitives who lie on background check forms.
In the interview, Cruz expressed interest in running for president again.
In 2024, perhaps.
“Look, I hope to run again,” Cruz said. “We came very, very close in 2016. And it’s the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.”
He also predicted that while it will be a tight race, the GOP will carry Texas in next year’s election.
“Texas is a battleground,” Cruz said. “Texas is going to be hotly contested in 2020. I believe the president will win Texas. I think it will be closer than last time.”
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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