“No Right to Blame Anybody Else”: AOC Calls Out Gun-Law Blockers After Charlie Kirk Assassination
You could feel the air shift on Capitol Hill. Reporters pressed. The cameras rolled. And AOC didn’t hedge. “I don’t think a single person who has dedicated their entire career to preventing gun safety legislation from getting passed in this House has any right to blame anybody else but themselves for what has happened,” she said. The line traveled fast. So did the fallout.
AOC set the tone: focus on laws, not scapegoats
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the assassination of Charlie Kirk “tremendously disturbing” and pushed for Congress to act on gun policy. She pointed to votes against universal background checks and efforts that “remove any way to block the mentally ill, to block extremists, to block people with histories and records of domestic violence from getting guns.” Then she asked, “Are we going to do something about this or not?”
Security fears are rising across Congress
Lawmakers from both parties changed plans. Members canceled events, moved rallies indoors, or added security. For her part, AOC postponed a weekend rally in Raleigh because of safety concerns and out of respect for Kirk. “The security protocols and the ways we think about it and conceive of it are for a bygone time. They’re not designed for stochastic time,” she told reporters.
AOC pressed for action over rhetoric
When tensions spiked on the House floor after a moment of silence, AOC drew a line. “Are we going to do something, or are we going to argue over rhetoric?” she said. Earlier, she had posted that “the scourge of gun violence and political violence must end” and called the shooting “the latest incident of this chaos.”
Republicans tried to pin the blame on Democrats. AOC answered
As some GOP voices pointed out to the left, AOC called the rush to assign motive “absolutely an irresponsible action” while the FBI still had not apprehended the shooter. She reinforced that lawmakers who block gun safety bills “have no right to blame anybody else,” per USA Today. Her message cut through a noisy cycle.
Lawmakers feel the threat in real time
Members described a climate of fear. “People are scared to death in this building,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz said, according to NBC News. The outlet also reported increased police presence around the Capitol and briefings on security options. The Independent noted that Rep. Nancy Mace canceled public events and said she would carry a firearm. House leaders fielded calls about protections while acknowledging the limits of covering every member.”
AOC kept the focus on policy, victims, and restraint
AOC condemned political violence and expressed sympathy for Kirk’s family. She urged colleagues to stop the cycle by passing gun safety legislation. And she warned that Kirk’s assassination “risks an uncorking of political chaos and violence that we cannot risk in America.”
