John Cornyn, the lead Republican working on a bipartisan gun agreement in the U.S. Senate, was heavily booed by the audience at Friday’s Texas GOP convention in downtown Houston.
For days convention-goers have labeled Cornyn a “RINO” — short for “Republican in name only” — for his role in brokering a gun deal in the wake of the Uvalde massacre and other recent shootings.
Cornyn, who is from Houston, has called tougher restrictions on guns a non-starter. The most recent details about the proposed deal do not include a ban on assault weapons or raising the minimum age for purchasing assault rifles.
Instead, the senior senator from Texas has pushed for things like financial incentives for states to enact and enforce “red flag laws” allowing law enforcement to petition for gun removal under certain circumstances in which a person is deemed dangerous to themselves or others. The law would also expand background checks to include the juvenile records of people under 21.
But while he’s made tough gun restrictions a poison pill for negotiations, Republicans at the convention nonetheless blasted Cornyn for his involvement, chanting "no red flags" and "say no to Cornyn."
Sen. John Cornyn, Texas’ senior senator, just got on the stage.
— Sergio Martínez-Beltrán (@SergioMarBel) June 17, 2022
Folks here are booing him big time. #txpol pic.twitter.com/tplLEBssuG
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