'Arm yourself accordingly': What the GOP is saying about gun control after Trump shooting

MILWAUKEE – Days after Thomas Matthew Crooks put former President Donald Trump’s head in the sights of an assault-style rifle, Rep. Wesley Hunt made the case to keep the AR-15 in Americans' hands.

Hunt, R-Texas, warned an audience Tuesday morning that an AR-15 ban could become a “Trojan horse" that could lead to wider gun restriction if proponents on "the left" try to push the issue in the wake of the assassination attempt.

"My message to you all is to be vigilant here,” Hunt said, noting assault-style rifles are responsible for a small fraction of U.S. homicides. “They cannot go after our AR-15s. The second we allow them to infringe on that, we are letting the fox in the henhouse."

The attempt on Trump’s life was a stunning moment in American history and in this year's presidential race. Images of the former president — hand reaching for his bloodied ear, being tackled by security, and then resurging with a victorious fist in the air — shocked the nation and have electrified his already-passionate base of supporters in Milwaukee this week for the Republican National Convention.

Speaking at an event near the convention on Tuesday morning, gun advocates and a top Trump surrogate showed no sign of changing their tune on gun rights. In fact they doubled-down on the idea that more guns can prevent similar tragedies.

"The insinuation that we're going to just eradicate this country of guns is a ridiculous one. So you better arm yourself accordingly,” Hunt said.

Chris LaCivita, one of Trump’s top campaign advisers, said at the same event that the former president would continue to push for gun rights despite the shooting. He cast Crooks as a rogue actor, saying “99.9%” of gun owners are “very responsible.”

"There are so many different things you can do to curb, you know, problem individuals, as opposed to trying to ban what has clearly been defined by the Constitution as a right,” LaCivita said.

Republicans in Congress have defeated multiple legislative pushes for gun control, including in the wake of high-profile mass shootings that killed young schoolchildren, and consistently have fought to preserve Americans' access to firearms.

That includes the rifle that landed in Crooks’ hands. In a call with reporters Sunday afternoon, FBI officials said Crooks appears to have acted as a lone wolf, using a firearm that authorities have said was purchased legally by his father.

Instead gun-rights advocates have framed the issue as a matter of personal responsibility. A moderator at Tuesday’s event asked LaCivita what lessons he teaches his children regarding firearm safety and constitutional rights.

"I just taught him at a very young age: have respect for a firearm,” he said of his son.

"I kept my stuff locked up, except for the one next to my bed,” he continued. “But, it's obviously the duty for any law-abiding citizen who wants to exercise their right, to exercise their right responsibly."

The U.S. is an outlier when it comes to gun violence, with a high concentration of firearms as well as a high rate of gun deaths per capita, compared to many peer nations.

Gun advocates’ rhetoric has echoed Trump’s warnings, describing his own legal challenges, that “they're coming after you."

"We saw one of the most protected men on the planet attacked – almost murdered. Everyday Americans don’t have private security around them. It’s up to them to protect themselves," said Katie Pointer Baney, who works on government affairs for the U.S. Concealed Carry Association.

Asked what needs to change, she said the country must address the underlying causes of violent crime, listing mental health, poverty and instability in the home. With so many guns in circulation it’s wrong to think banning a certain type of firearm would be a “silver bullet,” she argued.

Guns were allowed within walking distance of the RNC convention. A short-lived effort at City Hall to ban firearms within the security footprint failed because local governments such as Milwaukee are precluded under state law from enacting gun regulations more stringent than the state's. Wisconsin allows both concealed carry and open carry.

“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun,” Hunt said. “And that son of a bitch is now dead because a good guy with a gun shot him."

“Imagine how many more lives were spared because that sniper acted and took him out immediately.”

USA Today’s Aysha Bagchi, Jessie Opoien, and Alison Dirr contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Arm yourself': GOP firm against gun control after Trump shooting