The Fourth of July weekend ended on a tragic note. There were a number of mass shootings across the country on Monday alone, including the deadliest: the 21-year-old who ambushed a parade in Highland Park, Illinois, killing seven and wounding 30. Much as what happened after the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, the incidents have — once again — prompted talk of ramping up gun control. And as usual, the GOP are doing their best to get in the way of progress. But one lawmaker took her objections in an even stranger direction than Marjorie Taylor Greene did.
Arizona representative Debbie Lesko — who in the past has tried to go the Greene/Lauren Boebert route of making wacko, incoherent claims — took the floor of the House this week, where she railed against, as she argued, punishing law-abiding gun owners, therefore making them less safe from others who have guns.
Holy crap. Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) said she would shoot her own grandchildren to oppose a gun safety reform bill that would keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them. (h/t @RyanShead) pic.twitter.com/LSOuI0jDif
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) July 6, 2022
“I have five grandchildren,” Lesko said. “I would do anything—anything—to protect my five grandchildren. Including, as a last resort, shooting them, if I had to, to protect the lives of my grandchildren.” She accused Democrats of trying to “take away my right to protect my grandchildren” and “the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect their own children.” (Or, again, shooting them themselves.)
Lesko’s comments found themselves making the way through social media, earning her a mix of condemnation and confusion. She eventually responded to the backlash, but not by denying that she would, you know, shoot her grandkids. Instead she went after her critics.
It never ceases to amaze me the lengths gun control zealots will go! They turned my speech about protecting Second Amendment rights and my right to protect my grandchildren from violent criminals into a claim I would harm my own grandchildren. Absolutely ridiculous!
— Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (@RepDLesko) July 6, 2022
“It never ceases to amaze me the lengths gun control zealots will go!” she tweeted. “They turned my speech about protecting Second Amendment rights and my right to protect my grandchildren from violent criminals into a claim I would harm my own grandchildren. Absolutely ridiculous!”
You can watch Lesko talk about shooting her grandkids in the video embedded above.
To the surprise of no one, Lesko has railed against things like vaccines, even metal detectors on Capitol Hill after the Jan. 6 riot. She’s up for re-election this fall, and she has Trump’s endorsement.
(Via The Daily Beast)