The much-anticipated debate on gun control between Senator Ted Cruz and Hollywood actress Alyssa Milano went off without a hitch today. While it’s hard to say if any meaningful accomplishments or compromise on the issues will manifest from this, it certainly did not go down as the bombshell debate people thought it would be. While it’s highly unlikely either person changed the other’s mind, it’s interesting to see how amicable the discussion was.
Also in attendance of the debate was Fred Guttenberg, the father of a girl who was killed in the Parkland, Florida school shooting, and Ben Jackson, an advocate of Milano’s. Some of the criticism received by Ted Cruz from Milano and Guttenberg was backlash for his video of himself shooting an AR-15 with bacon wrapped around it. The insinuation was that it was snarky and disrespectful, and Cruz disagreed, highlighting snark on Twitter from both sides as being much worse in his opinion.
“I’m asking you and I’m begging you to have the courage to lead,” Alyssa asks Cruz at one point, likely hoping that he breaks ranks and pushes for more Republican gun control. Alyssa Milano claims she owns two guns herself for self-defense and that she doesn’t want all guns to be banned. Cruz later highlights that while he understands her sentiment, things like gun registries are what lead up to gun confiscation, which is what he is wary of. There was some discussion over whether or not particular legislation being pushed would have prevented any of the recent mass shootings such as Dayton OH, El Paso TX, and Odessa and Midland TX. Cruz made his case that he didn’t think legislation would have done much in prevention, and his opponents mentioned that perhaps the Odessa shooter might have been able to be stopped with a private gun sale ban.
Guttenberg asks Cruz at one point if he can get behind background checks. Cruz said he believes we should ‘strengthen background checks’ but did not provide details, although he did agree with Guttenberg that ‘not everyone should have access to a weapon’. Cruz goes on to say he wants to ‘focus on the bad guys’ like felons and also people with mental illness. ‘What I don’t think is effective is restricting law-abiding citizen’s rights’ Cruz highlights.
Another important highlight was when Milano and Guttenberg talk about how they don’t want to take away all guns from all people, but rather some guns from some people. They implied that Republicans saying ‘Democrats want to take your guns’ is only a half-truth. Cruz fired back though, saying that “3 of the 10 remaining presidential candidates on the debate stage are actively campaigning on the federal government actively and forcibly confiscating what is the most popular rifle in America today.”
Ted Cruz highlighted throughout the debate how he wants to continue to push a bill he has worked on in the past called the Grassley-Cruz bill, which is advertised as a bill to prevent violence and protect the second amendment at the same time. The full text of that bill can be read here. Cruz highlights that lying on a background check would be a felony in his bill, which he believes would help catch some people before they commit some shootings.
Throughout the debate, both sides were able to make their points on where they stand and at one point they discussed the nastiness of Twitter and agreed that both parties need to be more amicable and both parties need to work together more, even on things outside of gun control. The entire video can be watched at your leisure below. At the end of the debate, Ted Cruz and Alyssa Milano actually ended with a hug. Another notable scene was when Senator Cruz said that he doesn’t want to name the names of mass shooters, but rather only reference the shootings themselves, without giving any fame to the people who murder and mame others. He wrapped up that portion of his commentary by saying about mass shooters, “they are evil bastards who should burn in hell”.
TMZ speaks to Ted Cruz before the debate below:
The full debate on Facebook video is available now below:
Senator Ted Cruz posted feedback afterward on his official @SenatorTedCruz Facebook page. See the post on Facebook below where he summarizes his thoughts:
Alyssa Milano posted this to her Twitter account shortly after the debate: “I just left. He was gracious. I’m unsure if it changes anything. But appreciative for the opportunity to bridge the divide with civil, meaningful, discussion. Link to entire meeting below.” See tweet below:
I just left. He was gracious. I’m unsure if it changes anything. But appreciative for the opportunity to bridge the divide with civil, meaningful, discussion. Link to entire meeting below. #NoRA https://t.co/tAAzPXt5hW
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) September 10, 2019
