Cruz takes Second Amendment fight to military bases

LITCHFIELD, N.H. — Appealing to New Hampshire’s powerful gun culture, Sen. Ted Cruz said Sunday that he’s “pressing” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain to hold hearings on whether soldiers should be allowed to carry their own concealed firearms onto military bases.

“One of the things I’ve publicly called for on the Armed Services Committee is for us to have hearings on why the military has a policy of not allowing soldiers to carry their firearms onto bases. I am very concerned about that policy,” the Texas senator told 120 gun owners at a hunting club here, before taking a trip to a firing range for some target practice. “It’s one of the things I’m pressing. I hope the new chairman John McCain will agree to have those hearings because I think it’s very important to have a public discussion about why we’re denying our soldiers the ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”


Defense Department leaders oppose relaxing the ban, which was enacted under President George H.W. Bush.

Flanked by a flapping Gadsden flag on a crisp afternoon, he spent the better part of an hourlong town hall at the Londonberry Fish & Game Club touting his record on the Second Amendment. His wife, Heidi, stood behind him wearing a black cap that bearing the words “Armed & Fabulous.”

After three mass shootings at military installations in five years, including another at Ford Hood last year, pro-gun activists have argued that letting troops arm themselves on the job would give them a better ability to defend themselves.

Generals have argued that only military police officers should be able to carry weapons freely around base. Many in the chain of command believe more guns would lead only to more violence, especially among those who suffer from mental instability as a consequence of combat.

“I want to give an opportunity for the military leadership to lay out their views,” Cruz told a woman who asked him about the issue.

Cruz said he is not afraid to take on the brass. He touted his success at persuading every Republican and Democrat on the Armed Services Committee to support a bill that awarded Purple Hearts to every soldier wounded in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. The government resisted giving out the medals on the grounds that it had not been a combat situation.

“We did it over the active opposition of the Obama Pentagon,” he said.

Cruz, who entered the Senate in 2013, is making an aggressive effort to overcome the criticism that he lacks the accomplishments to justify running for president. Part of that is embracing the old Bill Buckley definition of conservatism (“a fellow who is standing athwart history, yelling stop”).

The senator took credit for helping block any new laws in the aftermath of the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. He said many in the Senate Republican conference believed tough new laws were inevitable after the horrific act.

“If y’all were sitting in the Senate Republican lunches, you’d have jumped out the window, because the sentiment there was that ‘this is a freight train, it can’t be stopped, get out of the way,’” Cruz recalled

He recalled partnering with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Utah Sen. Mike Lee to pledge a filibuster of any gun-related bill the Friday before a two-week recess.

“What we were trying to do was real simple: slow things down,” he said.

Cruz said background check laws might have passed had gun groups not mobilized to put pressure on wavering Republicans.

Gun rights are a big deal in the Live Free or Die state. Scott Brown’s support for an assault weapons ban and other gun laws, dating to his time in Massachusetts, was the primary reason that he won less than 50 percent of the vote in the GOP Senate primary last September.

All the Republicans pledge support for gun rights, and many will try to outdo one another going into next February’s primary.

Leaders from several gun groups, including Gun Rights Across America, the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition and the Women’s Defense League, gave Cruz a very positive reception.

The woman who introduced the senator noted the significance that Sunday was April 19, the date that the American Revolution began. “Civilian firearms ownership freed the colonies,” she said. “We want to keep it that way.”

When his microphone cut out, Cruz jokingly blamed Attorney General Eric Holder for cutting it off. Then he began to yell so that the crowd of 120 could hear.

During his visit to New Hampshire this past week, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said he thinks the Senate should confirm Loretta Lynch as attorney general.

Cruz, for this part, heavily emphasized on both Saturday and Sunday that he’s “leading the fight” against her nomination.

“We understand that in a Republican primary everyone comes along and says they’re most conservative,” he said. “I’m confident you’re not going to see a Republican come to the state of New Hampshire and say, ‘You know what? I’m an establishment moderate who stands for nothing.’ They’re not going to admit that.”

Cruz went shooting after his speech, but reporters were not allowed to go with him to the firing range.

One of the most interesting moments from Cruz’s exchange with the activists came when he complained about how much of his time he spends fundraising.

“I’ve told my 6-year-old daughter, ‘Running for office is real simple: you just surgically disconnect your shame sensor,’” he said. “Because you spend every day asking people for money. You walk up and say, ‘How are you doing, sir? Can I have money? Great to see you, lovely shirt, please give me money.’ That’s what running for office is like.”

Cruz, the son of a Cuban refugee, said he puts up with the hassle because he thinks the future of the country is at stake.

“If we lose our freedom here,” he asked, “where do we go?”