Marco Rubio joins group threatening to filibuster gun control legislation

◼ Earlier this week, GOP Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.), Mike Lee (Utah), and Ted Cruz (Texas) wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) pledging to “oppose the motion to proceed to any legislation that will serve as a vehicle for any additional gun restrictions.” - Jonathan Easley/The Hill

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Thursday joined a group of Republicans threatening to filibuster gun control legislation in the Senate.

“We, the undersigned, intend to oppose any legislation that would infringe on the American people’s constitutional right to bear arms, or on their ability to exercise this right without being subjected to government surveillance,” he wrote in a statement on his website.

“The Second Amendment to the Constitution protects citizens’ right to self-defense. It speaks to history’s lesson that government cannot be in all places at all times, and history’s warning about the oppression of a government that tries.”

...On Thursday, President Obama made an emotional plea for Congress to pass gun control legislation, recalling the massacre that left 26 people dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School less than 100 days ago.
But Rubio said Obama's proposals aren't what's needed to reduce gun violence.

“We should look for ways to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill prone to misusing them, but I oppose legislation that will be used as a vehicle to impose new Second Amendment restrictions on responsible, law-abiding gun owners,” Rubio said.

“We should work to reduce tragic acts of violence by addressing violence at its source, including untreated mental illness, the lack of adequate information-sharing on mental health issues, and the breakdown of the family.”

◼ BOOM: Ted Cruz hammers Obama for using Sandy Hook to promote agenda that will do nothing to stop violent crime - The Right Scoop

◼ Ted Cruz Accuses Obama Of Taking 'Advantage' Of Sandy Hook, Vows To Stymie Gun Control Legislation - Huffington Post

"It is saddening to see the president today, once again, try to take advantage of this tragic murder to promote an agenda that will do nothing to stop violent crime, but will undermine the constitutional rights of all law-abiding Americans," Cruz said in a statement. "I am committed to working with Sens. Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Marco Rubio, and Jim Inhofe -- and I hope many other colleagues -- to use any procedural means necessary to protect those fundamental rights."

Cruz also blamed the Obama administration for contributing to the gun violence it is now attempting to address.

"In any conversation about how to prevent future tragedies such as Sandy Hook, our focus should be on stopping criminals from obtaining guns," Cruz said. "Unfortunately, the Obama Administration has failed to make this a priority -- in 2010, out of more than 15,700 fugitives and felons who tried to illegally purchase a firearm, the Obama Justice Department prosecuted only 44. That is unacceptable."