At least three Republican lawmakers in the House have sported small assault rifle pins on their lapels amid an alarming series of mass shootings — and critics have erupted.
“To promote that on the floor of the House beneath and an insult to all victims of assault weapons,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (DN.Y.) told Nexstar Media reporters.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) said that “anybody can wear whatever they want, but you have to have common decency.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), who has been wearing a lapel pin for years, said in a tweet that he distributed to his colleagues to “remind people of the Second Amendment of the Constitution and how important it is in protecting our freedom.” He seemed proud that he “triggered” the Democrats.
Representatives Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and George Santos (RN.Y.) were both photographed wearing the pin. Luna did so on Monday less than 48 hours after a mass shooting in his country that injured 11 people, two critically. There were six mass shootings in Florida in January.
“You can’t make this nonsense up,” Gomez tweeted.
He also pointed out the heartlessness of wearing a badge during Gun Violence Survivors Week – and noted that Clyde is the owner of a major gun retailer in Georgia who profits from the use of guns.
In response to one of Gomez’s comments, Luna awkwardly tweeted a photo of a signed handwritten note taped to House’s office door saying: “Jimmy, stop trying to date me!” – with a gun pin attached.
As of early February, the Gun Violence Archive counted 54 mass shootings in the US in 2023. Six had four or more deaths.
Although handguns are most often used in mass shootings, AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles or similar rifles — like those depicted on lapel pins — are increasingly snipers’ weapons of choice, USA Today reported.