- Rep. Lauren Boebert faced criticism over a tweet that appeared to joke about a fatal shooting.
- Last week, a crew member from the film "Rust" died after actor
Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on set.
A pro-gun member of Congress has garnered attention from several high-profile figures after appearing to tweet a joke about a recent shooting incident on the set of Alec Baldwin's new film, "Rust." Last Thursday, Baldwin fired a prop gun. This resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and left director Joel Souza injured.
Lauren Boebert, 34, joined the House of Representatives for Colorado's 3rd congressional district this year. The Republican, who is an outspoken advocate of firearm rights, was previously banned by
-Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) October 22, 2021
The day following the shooting incident, Boebert shared what appeared to be a screenshot of a tweet posted by Baldwin in 2014. It said, "I'm going to make bright, yellow banana yellow t-shirts that read 'my hands are up. Please don't shoot me.' Who wants one?" The purported tweet by Baldwin, who has been outspoken in the past about his opposition to the NRA, appears to reference the yellow T-shirts often worn by gun rights activists during protests.
Tagging the actor's official Twitter account, Boebert wrote in a tweet accompanying the screenshot, "Are these still available? Asking for a movie producer..."
Following the tweet, several high-profile figures criticized Boebert.
Actor George Takei said Boebert had "no soul" in one tweet, while actor and activist Rosanna Arquette said Boebert should feel "ashamed" for "politicizing" the incident.
Fred Guttenberg, who became a gun control activist after his child was killed in the Parkland school shooting in 2018, also criticized the tweet, saying he looked forward to campaigning with Boebert's opponent. Former director of strategic communications for the White House during the Trump administration Alyssa Farrah also told Boebert in a tweet to have "grace and empathy" in light of Baldwin's shooting incident.
Boebert later followed up her tweet by writing "I said what I said. You crazy Blue Checks want to take away our right to defend ourselves with a firearm, and know NOTHING about basic gun safety!"
Boebert's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
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