Ted Cruz denounces new gun restrictions as he argues with hecklers in Austin

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz vehemently defended Texas’ gun laws at The Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday, engaging in a spirited debate with audience members about semi-automatic rifles, mass shootings and school security.

Cruz, in an onstage conversation with the Washington Examiner’s David M. Drucker in Austin, blasted Democrats for their response to mass shootings, saying the party wants to take firearms away from law-abiding citizens.

At the conclusion of the interview, some attendees repeatedly booed and heckled Cruz as he answered an audience question seeking his ideas on how to limit or prevent mass shootings. Cruz, like many Republican officials, adamantly opposes a ban on semi-automatic rifles.