In 2017, U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville), now a candidate for U.S. Senate, nearly lost his life at the hands of a would-be assassin during practice for the congressional baseball game in Alexandria, Va.
Brooks, along with his Republican House colleagues, survived the attack, but there were serious injuries, including then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), who suffered life-threatening injuries. Scalise has since recovered.
One of the issues that have come up lately in Alabama's U.S. Senate contest is the Second Amendment and what it means to each of the candidates, particularly after the resurfacing of remarks from frontrunner Mike Durant, who suggested in a speech a few years ago at West Point that a "good step" to law and order in troubled U.S. cities would be to disarm the public.
During a Thursday interview with Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Brooks recited his remarks from the 2017 incident to reiterate his views on the Second Amendment.
"Let me digress back to 2017 when I was on the baseball field where 160, 170 bullets or so were fired at us over about a six-and-a-half, seven-and-a-half minute period of time," Brooks said. "Steve Scalise and four other of the good guys were shot. One, the assassin, was killed. And as you may know, I was a target of that assassination attempt. The guy had my physical description written down in his pocket. And afterward, there was a scrum of reporters."
Brooks said the reporters' goal is to make congressmen look two-faced, using the approach of, "Now that you've been shot at, what do you think of the Second Amendment, does this change your view of the gun situation in America?"
"'Not with respect to the Second Amendment,'" Brooks said, reading his reply. "'The Second Amendment right to bear arms is to help ensure we always have a republic. And as with any Constitutional provision within the Bill of Rights, there are adverse aspects to each of those rights we enjoy as people. And what we just saw here is one of the bad side effects of someone not exercising those rights properly.'
"'But we're not going to get rid of the freedom of speech because some people say some really ugly things that hurt other people's feelings. We're not going to get rid of the search and seizure rights because it allows some criminals to go free who should be behind bars. These rights are there to protect Americans, and while each of them has a negative aspect to them, they are fundamental to us being the greatest nation in world history. So, no, I'm not changing my position on any of the rights we enjoy as Americans,' end quote.'"
Brooks said he spoke those words while running on adrenaline after being shot at by a socialist assassin, so that should show his commitment to the Second Amendment. Brooks said that by comparison, his opponents Katie Britt and Mike Durant have said things that undermine the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
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