Cruz to talk gun rights at Iowa shooting range

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will defend gun rights at a shooting range in Iowa on Friday, days after a mass shooting in San Bernardino that is raising worries about both terrorism and gun violence.

Cruz's visit to the CrossRoads Shooting Sports in Johnston, Iowa was scheduled before the San Bernardino shootings, campaign spokesman Rick Tyler said Friday. The event was reported by The New York Times.

Tyler added that the 2016 Republican White House hopeful never discussed re-booking the event following the incident two day ago.

The New York Times reported that Cruz is launching his campaign's "Second Amendment Coalition" during Friday's speech. The group has signed on more than 24,000 people interested in the right to bear arms.

Cruz's stop in Iowa comes as his campaign experiences a surge in national voter supporter, according to a poll released Friday.

The CNN/ORC sampling ranks Cruz second in the 2016 Republican race with 16 percent backing from Republicans and Republican-leaning voters.

It added that the Texas lawmaker's support has risen 12 points since a similar analysis in October, edging out retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson in the process.

Wednesday's firearm bloodshed in California has renewed national debate over gun control laws and their impact on violent crime.

Police killed two suspects later that evening - later identified Syed Farook, 28 and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27 - during an officer-involved shootout in Redlands, Calif.

Cruz raised the possibility that the married couple had ties with jihadist extremism during a speech Thursday.

"All of us are deeply concerned that this is yet another manifestation of terrorism, of radical Islamic terrorism here at home," he said at the Republican Jewish Coalition's candidate forum in Washington, D.C.

"Coming in the wake of the terror attack here in Paris, this horrific murder underscores we are at a time of war," Cruz continued, referencing a Nov. 13 attack there perpetrated by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

"Whether or not the current administration realizes it or is willing to acknowledge it, our enemies are at war with us," he added.

Cruz is now pressuring the Obama administration into releasing Farook and Malik's immigration history following their alleged attack. Cruz and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) are specifically seeking immigration history regarding the couple's parents and their nuptials.

Syed Farook was reportedly born in Illinois, and traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet his wife.

Ted Cruz has spent a lifetime fighting to defend the Constitution - our nation's founding document and the supreme law of the land - which was crafted by our founding fathers to act as chains to bind the mischief of government and to protect the liberties endowed to us by our Creator.

Second Amendment

Played a crucial role in preventing federal legislation to restrict the Second Amendment rights of Americans.
Authored legislation to strengthen the Second Amendment rights of Americans by allowing interstate firearms sales.
Led 31 states in District of Columbia v. Heller where the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a ban on firearms in a 5-4 landmark decision.
- Honored by the National Rifle Association with a 2008 resolution for his leadership in the Heller case, which noted that his “efforts made this victory for the American people possible.”
- Awarded the NRA’s 2010 Carter-Knight Freedom Fund, which “rewards exemplary activities in the support and protection of the right to Keep and Bear Arms” for his work in the Heller and McDonald cases.
Argued against unreasonable and burdensome gun restrictions before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Recognized by NRA executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre who observed, “Ted Cruz is one of our nation’s leading defenders of the Second Amendment. For over a decade, Ted has fought tirelessly to defend our constitutional right to keep and bear arms, and his leadership was absolutely critical to our major victories before the U.S. Supreme Court.”

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