“There has to be hearings. We’ve got to get to the bottom of it. I mean, it’s a 150-yard shot. How do you get somebody with a long gun within 150 yards of the former president of the United States?” said Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.), who sits on the House Judiciary Committee. “With all the rhetoric we’ve been hearing, we knew that they were putting his life in danger.”
[Texas Rep. Wesley] Hunt similarly told POLITICO that there is “absolutely” no reason to restrict guns after the assassination attempt. “We need to do a complete, full investigation and have full transparency with the American people on what happened here. No CIA, FBI cover up crap — like what actually happened,” he said.
Many non-elected official delegates feel the same. Renee Gentle Powers, a delegate from Clanton, Alabama, said she burst into tears upon hearing the news Saturday. But she described herself as “rock solid on the Second Amendment” and instead blamed the shooting on what she described as deteriorating culture in the U.S.
“I think what we’ve got to address is not the gun issue itself but the person. Unfortunately, in our culture today we’re not as spiritually grounded where we value life like we should,” Gentle Powers said. “Therefore, I do not blame results of guns on the guns themselves. I believe it’s the individuals that we’ve got to address.”
Kathy Aulson, a nurse, attorney and Texas delegate, said the Saturday shooting hit close to home because the man who was killed was sitting where she has sat at multiple Trump rallies. Still, she said, restricting guns isn’t the answer.
“Those of us that are law-abiding citizens won’t have guns, and those that aren’t law abiding will still have guns,” Aulson said. “You can’t do gun control.”
— Megan Messerly in Trump Was Shot. Republicans Still Say Guns Aren’t the Problem.