Buck reads ‘mean tweets’ in response to rifle video
One week after posting a video to Twitter of himself holding a semi-automatic rifle and telling former Vice President Joe Biden to “come and get it,” U.S. Rep. Ken Buck on Friday posted a second video of himself reading “mean tweet” responses.
“@PattyArquette says, ‘Creepy weird ad,'” Buck said, reading from his phone while walking through a U.S. House of Representatives office building in Washington, D.C. “I don’t think there’s anything creepy or weird about standing up for our constitutional rights,” he added.
“@houseofstang says, ‘Nobody is going to take you seriously, your name is Ken Buck’,” the congressman read, then looked inquisitively at the camera. “Really? That from someone named @houseofstang?”
Buck’s original video featured an American flag-emblazoned semi-automatic rifle in his capitol office, which Buck said he had gotten permission to keep there. He invited Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to “come and take it.” Buck was reacting to Biden’s seemingly-tough stance on gun control.
If Biden were going to “take” people’s guns, Buck said, “why don’t you swing by my office in Washington, D.C. and start with this one?”
Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, defended the candidate’s pro-gun control stance in light of an “epidemic” of mass shootings. “The American people are crying out for gun safety reform, and as president Joe Biden would demand a ban on assault weapons,” Bates said. “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 was unapologetic for his original video, which attracted heavy criticism online. “Let me be really clear,” he said. “I’m gonna cling to my guns – all of my guns – and my Bible. And there’s not a damn thing you’re gonna do about it.”


