Hero Football Coach Dies After Shielding Students From School Shooter's Bullets
Sen. Ted Cruz was asked Thursday about Democrats' immediate calls for more gun control, including a ban on the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, in response to the latest mass shooting.
At least 17 people have died after a troubled former student opened fire inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on Wednesday.
Cruz (R-Texas) said Democrats always respond in the same way, by "politicizing" the issue and attempt to curtail the gun rights of law-abiding Americans.
Don't tell me tomorrow isn't the appropriate time to debate gun violence. If you're a political leader doing nothing about this slaughter, you're an accomplice.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 15, 2018
Our leaders need to lead. Stand up to the gun lobby and do what's right to keep our children safe from gun violence.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 15, 2018
"The answer is to focus on criminals and violent criminals," he said on "Fox & Friends."
"This individual appears to have significant issues with mental illness. We'll be asking, were there signs of mental illness? Could we have stepped in beforehand?" he asked.
Cruz said after the Nov. 2017 slaughter of 26 people at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, victims' families insisted to him that more gun control was not the "right answer."
"This is moms grieving while their sons are being operated on," he recalled, adding that some victims' families said the gunman could have been easily stopped if any of the churchgoers had brought their firearm into the church.
He said the church shooting could have been prevented if the Obama administration had simply followed federal law and reported the gunman's convictions so he could not purchase a gun.
Watch the discussion above.
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