Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, refused to back down Wednesday after controversially suggesting Republican colleague Rep. Dan Crenshaw’s friends are “likely” domestic abusers.
“With universal background checks, I wouldn’t be able to let my friends borrow my handgun when they travel alone like this,” Crenshaw tweeted on Tuesday in response to the story of a young woman who had chased off five would-be robbers with her handgun. “We would make felons out of people just for defending themselves.”
A day later, Ocasio-Cortez criticized Crenshaw’s handling of firearms.
“The people you’re giving a gun to have likely abused their spouse or have a violent criminal record, & you may not know it,” she declared in a tweet. “Why on earth would you do that?”
MORE: Crenshaw Slams AOC for Assuming His Friends Are Domestic Abusers
The freshman congresswoman doubled down on the sentiment in the face of backlash from several commenters who were gobsmacked by her assumption that Crenshaw’s friends are criminals or domestic abusers.
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Crenshaw finally showed up to the Twitter fight on Wednesday afternoon. After expressing disbelief that Ocasio-Cortez thinks his friends are “domestic abusers/criminals,” he offered a corrective.
“Wrong,” he said. “People lend guns to friends, esp if they don’t own a gun, for self-defense and hunting purposes.”
“This is America outside NYC,” he added.
“You could know an abuser & have no clue,” she said in reply. “I’ve had friends come out to me as victims. It’s not obvious. Unsafe relationships are COMMON.”
Herein lies an important point abt domestic abuse: most of it is hidden. You could know an abuser & have no clue.
I’ve had friends come out to me as victims. It’s not obvious. Unsafe relationships are COMMON.
That’s why House Dems passed closing the boyfriend loophole in VAWA.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 4, 2019
“Rapists can have Ivy League degrees. Abusers can look like ‘good dads’ or have high incomes or ‘great jobs,'” she said in response to One America News Network correspondent Emily Miller, who had tweeted out in support of Crenshaw.
Rapists can have Ivy League degrees. Abusers can look like “good dads” or have high incomes or “great jobs.”
Good appearances are often a cover for abusers. In fact, many abusers RELY on their public reputation to intimidate partners from leaving (ex: “no one will believe you.”)
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 4, 2019
In another tweet, Ocasio-Cortez said that domestic violence is a “HUGE indicator for gun violence” and that abusers can be “master manipulators.”
“You wouldn’t lend a car to someone w/o a license.Why lend a gun to someone w/o a background check?” she added.
Twitter reacts to the AOC and Crenshaw feud
Many of Ocasio-Cortez’s fans on social media agreed with her stance on domestic violence, “liking” her original response to Crenshaw more than 65,000 times. One top reply went further, saying the bigger concern was Crenshaw’s friends committing a mass shooting himself.
I’d be more worried about his friends shooting up a synagogue. See: https://t.co/jp8ZhXAxXW
— black lotus hotel (@_gothlorien) September 4, 2019
However, many conservatives were baffled.
National Review editor Charles C. W. Cooke asked if Ocasio-Cortez was really saying Crenshaw’s friends are “likely” domestic abusers or criminals. “Why?” he wanted to know.
https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/1169263195468570624?s=20
Some commenters wondered where Ocasio-Cortez got off lecturing Crenshaw, a former Navy Seal and war veteran, on gun safety.
AOC is now lecturing a former Navy Seal on how to properly handle firearms. pic.twitter.com/xx2Qcw1cOq
— Anders Hagstrom (@Hagstrom_Anders) September 4, 2019
Others accused her of once again stereotyping Republicans and military service members in particular.
MORE: Five Men Try to Rob Texas Woman Sitting in Car – They Weren’t Expecting She’d Pull Out Her Gun
“Awful look to assume friends of Navy SEALs ‘likely abuse their spouse’ or are criminally violent,” tweeted Republican strategist Elliot Schwartz.
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