“Remember, my career was litigating before the Supreme Court.”
As the debate over gun control rages on, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) appeared on MSNBC on Wednesday morning to discuss the constitutionality of banning AR-15 rifles.
Speaking with “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough, Cruz argued the since-expired assault weapons ban of 1994 virtually did nothing to bring down violent crimes and noted the AR-15 is no more violent than a “deer rifle.”
“The lethality of an AR-15 is indistinguishable from many deer rifles,” Cruz said.
Scarborough then brought up several U. S. Supreme Court rulings on the Second Amendment, including District of Columbia v. Heller in which the court ultimately ruled citizens have a constitutional right to keep a handgun in their homes for self-defense purposes.
Cruz told the MSNBC anchor that “under the test of Heller,” Americans’ right to own an AR-15 is “clearly protected” because the rifle is a popular firearm.
“Remember, my career was litigating before the Supreme Court,” the senator said. “I recognize that’s not what you do.”
Scarborough didn’t seem to appreciate Cruz’s pro-gun argument, telling the Texas lawmaker, “I don’t need you to lecture me on what the Supreme Court does and what it doesn’t do.” He went on to accuse Cruz of “talk[ing] down” to him.
“Even a dumb country lawyer like me understands that an AR-15 today is not recognized as a constitutional right under the Second Amendment,” Scarborough added.
Cruz shot back, “Who’s talking down to whom?”
Ultimately, the Republican senator asserted the best way to successfully cut back on the number of mass shootings, like the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in February, is to increase school security, better enforce the laws and regulations already on the books, and make background checks more thorough.
