Actress turned left-wing activist Alyssa Milano challenged Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to a debate on gun rights but posed the event as a platform where she can expose Cruz’s “bullshit” to the American people firsthand.
“I’d love to come in and meet with you on the gun issue and many other issues that include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, @tedcruz and also, 1 Peter 4:8,” Milano wrote in response to Cruz’s lengthy thread, addressing one of her previous questions.
“I’ll be in DC next week. We can live-stream the meeting so the American people can hear your bullshit 1st hand,” the actor added.
I’d love to come in and meet with you on the gun issue and many other issues that include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, @tedcruz and also, 1 Peter 4:8.
I’ll be in DC next week. We can live-stream the meeting so the American people can hear your bullshit 1st hand. https://t.co/S3ljfjjOtG
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) September 2, 2019
The discussion started Sunday after Milano posed a question to evangelicals on Twitter, asking them to “cite which passage of the Bible God states it is a god-given right to own a gun”:
Can someone cite which passage of the Bible God states it is a god-given right to own a gun? This guy is unbelievable and is clearly owned by the gun lobby. #NoRA https://t.co/PxVV1RoV2Z
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) September 1, 2019
The tweet followed the news of the devastating shooting in the Odessa-Midland region, which resulted in seven deaths and 22 injuries.
Cruz responded to Milano’s question in a Twitter thread, writing in part, “An excellent Q, worth considering carefully w/o the snark of Twitter. It is of course not the right to a modern-day firearm that is God-give but rather the right to Life & the right to Liberty. Essential to that right to life is the right to DEFEND your life & your family.”
The Texas senator also explained the concepts of the founding documents and even cited a scripture, per Milano’s request:
2/x The right to self-defense is recognized repeatedly in the Bible, eg Exodus 22:2: “If a thief is caught breaking in at night & is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed.” (Note, though, verse 3 says it IS murder if during daylight (ie, not self-defense).
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 1, 2019
4/x And, for that reason, the Second Amendment provides “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, SHALL NOT be infringed.” It wasn’t to protect people’s ability to hunt, or to shoot target practice, but to defend their lives, their homes & their families.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 2, 2019
Cruz also listed examples of heroes using firearms as a form of self-defense and gave the B-list actress a brief history lesson on the disarmament of citizens and what that generally meant in terms of power.
Cruz wrote:
Stephen Willeford exercised that fundamental right when he risked his own life to stop the Sutherland Springs murderer, saving countless others as a result. St. George Tucker, one of the most important scholars in early America, explained the reasons behind the Second Amendment as follows: “This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty. The right of self defence is the first law of nature….”…in most govts it has been the study of rulers to confine this right w/in the narrowest limits possible. Wherever…the right…to keep & bear arms is, under any…pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction. That’s also why, post Civil War, disarming Black Americans was a critical objective of the KKK, and was memorialized in countless Jim Crow laws—to strip African-Americans of their God-given right to self-defense from violence.
“Playing politics w/ these deranged crimes—and trying to use them as an excuse to violate the constl rights of law-abiding citizens—won’t make anybody safer,” Cruz closed. “Forcible gun confiscation (as some 2020 Dems urge) won’t prevent mass-murders. But it would weaken our self-defense.”
6/x St. George Tucker, one of the most important scholars in early America, explained the reasons behind the Second Amendment as follows: “This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty. . . . The right of self defence is the first law of nature….”
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 2, 2019
8/x That’s also why, post Civil War, disarming Black Americans was a critical objective of the KKK, and was memorialized in countless Jim Crow laws—to strip African-Americans of their God-given right to self-defense from violence.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 2, 2019
10/x Playing politics w/ these deranged crimes—and trying to use them as an excuse to violate the constl rights of law-abiding citizens—won’t make anybody safer. Forcible gun confiscation (as some 2020 Dems urge) won’t prevent mass-murders. But it would weaken our self-defense.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 2, 2019
Milano, however, dismissed the time Cruz took to answer her question and instead requested a debate, so she can expose his “bullshit” to the American people. She also cited 1 Peter 4:8, which states, “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins.'”
It remains unclear why Milano would imply that the scripture contradicts Cruz’s argument, as self-defense — particularly, defending others in dangerous situations — is an act of love.
The activist also attempted to delegitimize Cruz’s position by tweeting a chart showing the support Cruz receives from pro-Second Amendment groups.
Well, look who is #1. pic.twitter.com/3y6q7zEl5n
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) September 2, 2019
Cruz has yet to respond to Milano’s invitation.
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