Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo suggested that Republican Senators and the National Rifle Association (NRA) were to blame for one of his officers being tragically killed by a domestic abuser who had a firearm.
Acevedo specifically targeted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Texas Republican Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, saying, “I don’t want to hear about how much they support law enforcement.”
“I don’t want to hear about how much they care about lives and the sanctity of lives yet, we all know in law enforcement that one of the biggest reasons that the Senate and Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and others are not getting into a room and having a conference committee with the House and getting the Violence Against Women’s Act (passed) is because the NRA doesn’t like the fact that we want to take firearms out of the hands of boyfriends that abuse their girlfriends,” Acevedo claimed. “And who killed our sergeant? A boyfriend abusing his girlfriend. So you’re either here for women and children and our daughters and our sisters and our aunts, or you’re here for the NRA.”
“So I don’t want to see their little smug faces talking about how much they care about law enforcement when I’m burying a sergeant because they don’t want to piss off the NRA,” Acevedo said as he began to yell. “Make up your minds, whose side are you on? Gun manufacturers, the gun lobby, or the children that are getting gunned down in this country every single day.”
WATCH:
HPD chief Acevedo calls out McConnell, Cornyn, Cruz by name, urging them to pass Violence Against Women act.
"And who killed our Sgt? A boyfriend abusing his girlfriend. So you're either here for women and children [daughters, sisters] and our aunts, or you're here for the NRA." pic.twitter.com/L6UDbZZvku
— Mark Mulligan (@mrkmully) December 9, 2019
Acevedo, a blatant partisan who repeatedly has promoted the Democrats’ gun control agenda, was immediately called out by gun expert Dana Loesch and others.
“This is abhorrent. My first experience with defensive gun use was a good guy with a gun protecting his family against such an abuser,” Loesch responded to the video. “To men like Acevedo: Stop treating us like weak creatures. Encourage women to empower themselves, get educated re firearms, and train.”
Loesch continued, “The abuser in my experience would have preferred his target, one of my family members, to have been unprotected by a gun. So whose side are YOU on, Acevedo?”
The abuser in my experience would have preferred his target, one of my family members, to have been unprotected by a gun. So whose side are YOU on, Acevedo?
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) December 10, 2019
“The idea that Acevedo promotes in that clip, that firearm ownership is a man’s thing, so if you support it you’re standing against women, is so disgustingly and moronically sexist, it’s logical vomit,” Loesch continued. “Domestic violence is literally a classification of prohibited possession with NCIC, Acevedo lies that it isn’t. That classification is why criminals like the abuser in my situation referenced get guns on the black market.”
Domestic violence is literally a classification of prohibited possession with NCIC, Acevedo lies that it isn't. That classification is why criminals like the abuser in my situation referenced get guns on the black market.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) December 10, 2019
On her website, Loesch continued: “Acevedo once tried bullying this female Second Amendment supporter with the threat of lawfare because I publicly and civilly challenged some of his claims and invited him to discuss them on air, a chance I fairly give everyone. It’s difficult to take seriously his concern for women considering how he reacted to simple political disagreement. (FYI: If Acevedo believes me to be incorrect he’s more than welcome to join my nationally syndicated radio show, which airs in his area also, for a legitimate, civil discussion if he’d like. The invitation is there.)”
“Instead of encouraging women to empower themselves, to learn about firearms and train — or at the very least go to the range once — gun control proponents such as Acevedo treat women like weak creatures, creatures suffering from the crippling disability of our female sex which renders us incapable of protecting ourselves, much less lug around a heavy gun to do it,” Loesch added.
Amy Swearer, Senior Legal Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation, responded Acevedo’s partisan rant by writing: “Losing an officer is heartbreaking, but this is absurd. VAWA re-authorization changes nothing about this scenario. Frankly, it appears the guy already had a DV misdemeanor from 2015 and would have been prohibited from possessing guns under existing law.”
Losing an officer is heartbreaking, but this is absurd. VAWA re-authorization changes nothing about this scenario. Frankly, it appears the guy already had a DV misdemeanor from 2015 and would have been prohibited from possessing guns under existing law. https://t.co/FtTG0l0Bzb
— Amy Swearer (@AmySwearer) December 9, 2019
“Moreover, there are very real constitutional problems with the newest version of VAWA, as @TomJipping explained recently: [link to article],” Swearer continued. “Bashing lawmakers over failing to pass a bill that would not have changed the outcome here but that would have serious constitutional/practical problems won’t bring this deputy back to life. It’s an angry cop out and astonishingly dishonest.”
Bashing lawmakers over failing to pass a bill that would not have changed the outcome here but that would have serious constitutional/practical problems won't bring this deputy back to life. It's an angry cop out and astonishingly dishonest.
— Amy Swearer (@AmySwearer) December 9, 2019
“While we’re here, the Office of Violence Against Women is still operational: https://justice.gov/ovw. Its twitter account is literally still tweeting: @OVWJustice. The funding for its programs this year was secured through appropriations bills, not the act reauthorization,” Swearer continued. “Finally, stop pretending like having problems with VAWA specifics is the same as cheering on domestic violence or being unconcerned with disarming dangerous individuals. It’s deeply insulting, and alienates people who are otherwise on the same page about stopping DV offenders.”
Finally, stop pretending like having problems with VAWA specifics is the same as cheering on domestic violence or being unconcerned with disarming dangerous individuals. It's deeply insulting, and alienates people who are otherwise on the same page about stopping DV offenders.
— Amy Swearer (@AmySwearer) December 9, 2019