Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) is an uncompromising supporter of the right to bear arms and a longtime opponent of Sharia law. On Thursday, he managed to awkwardly wrap the two together in a defense of the Second Amendment.
Speaking with radio host Jeff Akin in an interview on Freedom 107 radio, Gohmert suggested that gun control advocates ultimately wanted to eliminate gun ownership because they didn't understand the true purpose of the Second Amendment. He proceeded to explain why he believed it was in the Constitution.
"It is for our protection -- and the founders' quotes make that very very clear -- including against a government that would run amuck," Gohmert said, before shifting gears. "We've got some people who think Sharia law oughta be the law of the land, forget the Constitution. But the guns are there, the Second Amendment is there, to make sure all of the rest of the amendments are followed."
While Gohmert has in the past claimed to be friendly with Muslims -- including by "hugging [them] around the world" -- his prior comments about Islam and Sharia law suggest a tenuous relationship at best.
In 2011, Gohmert promised to take on the supposed threat of "creeping Sharia." Gohmert continued to express his skepticism about the motives of Muslims in 2012 when he lent his name to a misguided and heavily criticized crusade against members of President Barack Obama's administration. When Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted the campaign -- which hinged on allegations that top officials were linked to the Muslim Brotherhood -- Gohmert shot back, calling the senator "numbnuts."
While seemingly out of place, Gohmert's casual invocation of Sharia law wasn't the only peculiar defense of gun laws given during his interview. He also managed to tie the recent controversy over the domestic drone use to his opposition of efforts to limit high-capacity magazines.
"But I had somebody last week in Washington from either Georgia or Alabama was saying, 'Look, this goes back to we have got to have at least 50 rounds in our magazines because on average that's about how many it takes to bring down a drone,'" Gohmert recalled. "I hope he was kidding, I don't know for sure."
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