Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slams a Republican lawmaker for saying background checks prevent him from loaning his gun to friends
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attacked her Republican House colleague, Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas, in a tweet on Wednesday, lambasting the conservative's opposition to background checks for gun purchasers.
- Crenshaw said on Wednesday that he opposes universal background checks because they'd prevent him from lending his handgun to friends for self-defense.
- Crenshaw's tweet sparked criticism from gun control advocates who argued Crenshaw shouldn't lend his weapon to people who can't pass background checks. But Crenshaw didn't say his friends couldn't pass a background check, rather that they hadn't.
- "You are a member of Congress. Why are you 'lending' guns to people unsupervised who can't pass a basic background check?" Ocasio-Cortez wrote. "The people you're giving a gun to have likely abused their spouse or have a violent criminal record, & you may not know it. Why on earth would you do that?"
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attacked her Republican House colleague, Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas, in a tweet on Wednesday, lambasting the conservative's opposition to background checks for gun purchasers.
Crenshaw said on Wednesday that he opposes universal background checks because they'd prevent him from lending his handgun to friends for self-defense.
Retweeting a story about a woman who successfully fought off several attackers by shooting at least one, Crenshaw wrote, "Situations like this story are why we protect the 2nd Amendment."
He went on, "With universal background checks, I wouldn't be able to let my friends borrow my handgun when they travel alone like this. We would make felons out of people just for defending themselves.
Crenshaw's tweet sparked criticism from gun control advocates online and the New York congresswoman chimed in on Wednesday morning. Ocasio-Cortez argued that it's irresponsible for the Republican to lend his weapon to people who can't pass background checks. But Crenshaw didn't say his friends couldn't pass a background check, rather that they hadn't.
"You are a member of Congress. Why are you 'lending' guns to people unsupervised who can't pass a basic background check?" Ocasio-Cortez wrote. "The people you're giving a gun to have likely abused their spouse or have a violent criminal record, & you may not know it. Why on earth would you do that?"
Ocasio-Cortez and Crenshaw have exchanged barbs before, including when the New Yorker attacked her colleague's refusal to support the 9/11 Victims' Compensation bill.