Republicans — at least like Colorado Congressman Ken Buck — seem quite fond of violence. On Friday, he posted a video clip of himself taking an AR-15 rifle off a display from a wall and his office and touting it for the camera, at which point he said that public figures like Democratic presidential candidate (and former VP) Joe Biden and Beto O’Rourke would have to “come and take it” from him if they wanted to enact their gun safety measures. In response, Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego of Arizona — who’s actually himself a veteran, having served in the Iraq War — publicly schooled Buck about the basics of actual gun safety that he ignored right there in the supposedly macho video clip.
Gallego pointed out, addressing Buck directly:
‘You literally flagged the camera man. First rule of weapons handling, treat every weapon as if it were loaded. Second rule, never point the weapon at anything you don’t intend to shoot.’
You literally flagged the camera man. First rule of weapons handling, treat every weapon as if it were loaded. Second rule, never point the weapon at anything you don’t intend to shoot. https://t.co/inN5fISMoR
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) March 6, 2020
Originally, Buck had posted the ominous message:
‘I have just one message for Joe Biden and Beto O’Rourke, if you want to take everyone’s AR-15s, why don’t you swing by my office in Washington, D.C. and start with this one? Come and take it.’
It’s not normal for a sitting member of Congress to glibly tout the possibility of violent confrontation with a presidential candidate and those around him! It’s not normal at all! Biden needs Secret Service protection not just to protect him from angry protesters but also to protect him from gun nuts like Buck, apparently.
Underlying all of this, Biden has said that he’d task O’Rourke with leading federal gun safety pushes if Biden wins the presidency. Democratic candidates across the board have insisted on common sense federal gun policy reform like bans on weapon of war-style firearms circulating freely among the population (like Buck’s AR-15) and expanded federal background checks. Other Democratic policy proposals include expanding provisions to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of stalkers and similar people, and more.
The majority of Americans support measures like expanded background checks, but Congressional Republicans like Buck refuse to act.
Check out Twitter’s response…
