Politics

Cruz Forces Democratic Opponent To Repeatedly Claim He Supports Second Amendment — His Views On Gun Control Suggest Otherwise

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Molly Prince Politics Reporter
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Republican Sen. Ted Cruz got his Democratic opponent to claim multiple times during Friday’s Texas senatorial debate that he supports an individual’s right to keep and bear arms, despite promoting stricter gun control policies.

During a heated exchange regarding the nomination of judges to the Supreme Court, Cruz asserted Democratic Rep. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke wants to elect “liberal judicial activists on the court” — a claim O’Rourke did not dispute.

“The justices that Congressman O’Rourke would insist upon, like Hillary Clinton, are justices who would undermine and effectively write the Second Amendment out of the Constitution,” Cruz said. “Those are radical views, and they’re not views consistent with the overwhelming majority of Texans.”

“Congressman O’Rourke … wants justices who would overturn [District of Columbia v. Heller],” Cruz continued. “Let me tell you the position of the dissenters — the dissenters in Heller said that no individual, no American whatsoever, has any right to keep and bear arms whatsoever … That’s what Congressman O’Rourke wants to see the Supreme Court doing — writing the Second Amendment out of the Bill of Rights.” (RELATED: Ted Cruz: ‘Nike Is On The Wrong Side Of The American People’)

Amid a crowd of “boos,” O’Rourke repeatedly disputed Cruz’s claim, saying “of course I support the Second Amendment.”

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However, the El Paso congressman did not answer Cruz’s follow-up question to name a judge he supports that would keep the Second Amendment in tact, arguing that it is not his job in the House of Representatives to support judicial nominees.

“I fully support the Second Amendment,” O’Rourke continued to say.

O’Rourke is an advocate of numerous anti-gun policies, including banning magazines over the standard capacity, and he is against concealed carry reciprocity, according to his website. O’Rourke is also an advocate of banning the sale of AR-15s — he faced backlash when he said they should not be sold in America.

“I just don’t think we should be selling AR-15s in this country. That weapon was designed for one purpose and one purpose only, to kill people as effectively and as efficiently as possible on the battlefield,” O’Rourke told CBS regarding AR-15s. “It has no place in our streets, in our schools, in our concerts, in our movie theaters. We should not be selling that to civilians.”

O’Rourke’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but this article will be updated should a comment be received.

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