Republican U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks released a new ad for his Senate campaign touting his position on the Second Amendment in the aftermath of the July 14 shooting in Alexandria, Va., that left four wounded, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.
The 30-second ad opens with a black background and the sound of gunfire before displaying text that reads “June 14: A Bernie Sanders supporter fires on Republican Congressmen.”
The next slide fades in and reads “Mo Brooks gives his belt as a tourniquet to help the wounded” followed by “What’s the liberal media immediately ask?”
The ad then cuts to news footage shortly after the shooting where Brooks is asked by a reporter whether the event changes his views on “the gun situation in America.”
“The Second Amendment, the right to bear arms is to ensure that we always have a republic, so no I’m not changing my position on any of the rights that we enjoy as Americans,” Brooks said.
The ad has upset at least two Scalise staffers, including Brett Horton, Scalise’s Chief of Staff, since its release.
Monday afternoon, Horton tweeted:
The day of the shooting, while waiting at the hospital, I avoided the news/audio/video as much as possible. This makes my stomach turn.
— Brett Horton (@bretthhorton) July 24, 2017
In an email to The Washington Post, Chris Bond, a spokesperson for Scalise echoed Horton’s distaste, “I guess some people have their own ideas about what’s appropriate, don’t they?”
Brooks is one of several Republicans vying for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions earlier this year.
Among his competition is sitting Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to the seat by former Gov. Robert Bentley, and former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore.
The special primary election is set for Aug. 15. A primary runoff, if necessary, will be Sept. 26 and the general election is scheduled for Dec. 12.
The winner of the general election will serve out the remainder of former Sessions’ term, which runs through Jan. 2021.