In a video message, Colorado Rep. Ken Buck can be seen holding an AR-15 which has been painted with the American flag.
“I have a message for Joe Biden and Beto O’Rourke, if you want to take everyone’s AR-15s in America, why don’t you swing by my office in Washington, D.C. and start with this one,” Buck says as he takes the gun off his wall and poses with it.
“Come and take it.”
In a statement, Buck added, “I have always been a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment and will continue to stand up to any attacks on the law-abiding gun owners of Colorado’s Fourth District.”
The video was posted after Biden told a rally in Texas that O’Rourke—who is now backing the former Vice President for the democratic nomination—that the former congressman could help him with addressing gun violence.
“You’re going to take care of the gun problem with me. You’re going to be the one who leads this effort,” Biden said.
O’Rourke, a former Democratic presidential hopeful who dropped out last year, made gun reform one of his main policies during his campaign, including implementing a mandatory gun-buyback program for all assault-style rifles.
Addressing Buck’s video, O’Rourke tweeted, “This guy makes the case for both an assault weapons ban and a mandatory buyback program better than I ever could. These are weapons of war that have no place in our communities, in our politics or in our public discourse.”
Buck was also criticized by Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter victim Jaime was killed in the Parkland school shooting in February 2018.
“Had I seen this yesterday when in DC I gladly would have,” he tweeted in response to Buck’s challenge. “My daughter died from a single AR 15 bullet. You may find joy in that, I don’t. I will gladly come back to DC to discuss your AR 15 and removing it for safe storage. Do not make threats of AR 15 violence.”
Buck was given permission to display the AR-15 in his office despite it being illegal for the general public to bring guns into the U.S. Capitol because he is a member of congress.
Speaking to The Washington Post in 2015, Buck said the gun is not loaded and had a trigger lock. The gun’s bolt carrier assembly, required to actually fire the weapon, was also removed before it arrived in Washington.
“Putting a trigger lock on an inoperable gun is like putting a chastity belt on a eunuch,” Buck said. “The only dangerous thing about that gun is if someone took it off the wall and hit somebody else over the head with it.”
In a statement to CNBC, Biden’s campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said, “Joe Biden is the only candidate in this race who has taken on the NRA and beaten them. Mass shootings have become an epidemic that is devastating communities across our country—especially children in schools—which is a crisis we have to stop as soon as possible.
“The American people are crying out for gun safety reform, and as president Joe Biden would demand a ban on assault weapons. Weapons of war have no place in our streets, and absolutely no place in our schools.
“It’s long past time for elected officials to value the lives of our children over the interests of gun manufacturers.”
Buck’s office has been contacted for further comment.
