Ted Cruz Forces His Anti-Gun Challenger To Repeatedly Claim: ‘I Fully Support The Second Amendment’

by Molly Prince

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz got his Democratic opponent to claim multiple times during Friday’s Senate debate in Texas that he supports an individual’s right to keep and bear arms, despite promoting anti-gun policies.

During a heated exchange regarding the nomination of judges to the Supreme Court, Cruz asserted that Democratic Rep. Robert O’Rourke wants to elect “liberal judicial activists on the court” — a claim which 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.”

“Congressman O’Rourke … wants justices who will overturn [District of Columbia vs Heller],” Cruz continued. “Let me tell you the position of the dissenters: The dissenters in Heller said that no individual, no American, 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.”

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

However, the El Paso congressman refused to answer Cruz’s follow-up question to name a judge he supports that would keep the Second Amendment intact, 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 a staunch advocate of numerous anti-gun policies, including universal background checks, banning magazines over the standard capacity and he is against concealed carry reciprocity. O’Rourke is also against banning the sale of commonly used rifles for self-defense. O’Rourke faced backlash when he said AR-15s should not be sold in America.

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