Gun Rights Group Publicly Disavows Prospective Senate GOP Leader
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced last week that he would be stepping down from the leadership position later this year amid concerns about his physical health and complaints from conservatives regarding his political ideology.
The announcement prompted immediate speculation about his possible replacement, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) soon emerged as a formidable contender. He confirmed his intention to seek the position on Thursday.
While Cornyn has received support from some prominent establishment figures within the GOP, one prominent Second Amendment advocacy group has made its case against putting him in charge.
“The Senate deserves a conservative pro-gun leader, and John Cornyn is not that person,” asserted Aidan Johnston of Gun Owners of America. “Every time a gun issue comes up, he’s right there with a compromise. And that’s not leadership. That’s just capitulation to gun control.”
Johnston referred to Cornyn as “the traitor from Texas,” whose record should concern any law-abiding gun owner.
He cited the senator’s role in passing the Safer Communities Act as evidence that gun owners deserve better representation on Capitol Hill.
“The best thing Senator Cornyn could do for gun rights is join Mitch McConnell in retirement,” Johnston said.
It is worth noting that, prior to the passage of the Safer Communities Act, Cornyn boasted an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association, but Johnston and other high-profile conservative voices maintain that his work on that bill was a deal-breaker.
The “gross infringements on the Second Amendment” that Johnson identified within the bill was language that, “among other things, bribes states to enact ‘red-flag’ gun confiscation laws, creates a national de facto wait period for young adults to buy a gun, and creates a backdoor [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] rule to eliminate the private sale of firearms.”
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) indicated that he had heard from former President Donald Trump, who encouraged him to launch his own bid to succeed McConnell, though he declined to confirm or deny any such plans.
“I told him the most important thing I can do this moment is to make sure we have a Senate majority in November,” Daines said.
