Democratic congressman suggests Second Amendment solution for Trump

William Cummings | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Gun control that Tea Party members can support The president of Citizens for Self-Governance, Mark Meckler, says a GVRO statute is the answer to stop gun violence.

Critics are slamming Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., for seeming to suggest at a March 12 town hall that armed insurrection might be necessary to combat President Trump.

"It's really a matter of putting public pressure on the president," Suozzi said when asked about possible responses if Trump defies Congress. "And it's probably about going to the courts as well."

Then the Democratic congressman added, "This is where the Second Amendment comes in, quite frankly. Because you know, what if the president was to ignore the courts? What would you do? What would we do?"

When an audience member asked what the Second Amendment was, Suozzi responded, "The Second Amendment is the right to bear arms. That's why we have it."

The freshman congressman was criticized for his comments, which were interpreted by some as condoning violence against the government.

More: For many Americans, the Second Amendment is a defense against their own government

"This video is incredibly disturbing. It’s surreal to watch a sitting member of Congress suggest that his constituents should take up arms against the president of the United States," National Republican Campaign Committee spokesman Chris Martin said in a statement.

"When resistance and obstruction don't work out, Tom Suozzi proposes violence. He's completely out of touch," Martin told CNN.

Souzzi's senior adviser, Kim Devlin, told CNN that "to suggest his comments meant anything else or that he was advocating for an armed insurrection against the existing president is both irresponsible and ridiculous."

"Taking a page from such great Americans as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, Congressman Suozzi explained why our Founding Fathers created the Second Amendment as a way for citizens to fight back against a tyrannical government that does not follow the rule of law," Devlin said.

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump took heat for suggesting that "Second Amendment people" might be able to do something about Hillary Clinton if she won the election.

And during her failed 2010 Senate campaign, Nevada Republican — and tea party favorite — Sharron Angle was widely derided for saying the Founding Fathers included the Second Amendment in the Constitution "for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government."

Angle said people were "really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies" as a response to the then-Democratically controlled Congress, which many people interpreted as a suggestion that armed insurrection might be necessary.

More: Trump suggests '2nd Amendment people' could stop Clinton