Gun Group Demands Apology From Cornyn

Organization says it's not a mob, despite senator's post-speech comment
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 21, 2022 1:12 PM CDT
Gun Group to Senator: We're Not a 'Mob'
Republican Sen. John Cornyn attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this month in Washington.   (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The boos at the Texas Republican convention weren't the end of it for Sen. John Cornyn. After jeering him as he defended his role in gun control negotiations in Washington in a speech Friday, a pro-gun access group said it felt disrespected, the Dallas Morning News reports. The senator should apologize, the National Association for Gun Rights said, "for mocking his law-abiding constituents." After he left the stage, Cornyn was reported to have said, "I've never given in to mobs and I'm not starting today." The quote was tweeted by a reporter and retweeted by Cornyn.

The group's president called Cornyn two-faced. "He claims to support the Second Amendment, but is actually working to eviscerate our gun rights by cutting deals with anti-gun Democrats—and when his constituents publicly held him accountable, he called them a mob," said Dudley Brown. The senator has not responded publicly to the group's criticism or apologized for his offstage comment. Among the points of disagreement is the group's desire to eliminate "gun-free" school zones.

The convention as a whole made its differences with Cornyn clear Saturday by adopting a resolution rejecting the Senate's work on gun legislation, per CNN, though negotiations are ongoing. The platform also denounces by name the senators working on the deal, including Cornyn. All planks are not yet certified, per the Texas Tribune, which reported that the reception given Cornyn illustrates how adamant the state party's most vocal delegates are to compromising on social issues—though Republicans have been losing a bit of ground in state elections. (More John Cornyn stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X