Ted Cruz to Announce '2nd Amendment Coalition,' Believing Gun Control Not the Answer to Preventing Mass Shootings

— -- At Crossroads Shooting Sports in Johnstown, Iowa, a used paper target is pinned to the wall with Ted Cruz's signature on it and a note that says "The fight for Liberty never ends!"

Cruz visited the gun range back in June, just three days after the Charleston church shooting. On Friday afternoon, the Senator returns to the same Iowa gun range for a "2nd Amendment" campaign event days after another mass shooting, this time in San Bernardino, California.

“He’ll absolutely make note of what happened. But he is not going to back down or try to glaze over the importance of standing for our 2nd Amendment rights," Catherine Frazier, Cruz's national press secretary, told ABC News. "It’s an appropriate conversation to have in the wake of this shooting with liberals coming right out of the gate calling for more gun control and policies that would dilute our 2nd Amendment rights."

At the Iowa campaign event, in a state where the Texas senator has seen momentum as of late -- in a dead heat with Donald Trump in last week's Quinnipiac University poll -- Cruz will unveil his "2nd Amendment coalition."

The coalition is made up of over 24,000 members from across the country, 1,000 of whom live in the four early primary states. According to Frazier, the members of this coalition will be actively working to get Cruz elected.

A staunch defender of the 2nd Amendment, Cruz told supporters at his presidential announcement back in March to "imagine a federal government that protects the right to keep and bear arms of all law-abiding Americans."

At the Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Forum on Thursday, Cruz reacted to the San Bernardino shooting that left 14 dead by sending his prayers to the families of those who were killed and injured. Cruz told the Washington, D.C., event that "of course gun control isn't the answer." The senator added that "All of us are deeply concerned that this is yet another manifestation of terrorism, radical terrorism here at home. Coming on the wake of the terror attack in Paris, this horrific murder underscores that we are at a time of war," Cruz told the audience at the District of Columbia event.

Iowa Republican strategist Craig Robinson said Cruz holding a campaign event at a gun range days after another mass shooting does pose a risk, but could be an opportunity for him to take a serious approach to the tragedy and look presidential.

"Instead of throwing pro-gun stuff around to rally the base, saying what they want to hear, this is a time for him to be very thoughtful," Robinson, who also serves as the editor of the blog The Iowa Republican, told ABC News.

Robinson said he's very interested to see what Cruz chooses to do at this moment and whether he can be the right person to shape the Republican response.

"It has the potential to send a bad image. There’s no doubt about that. But, there’s also the potential to send a good image," said Robinson.

Cruz is not expected to shoot guns at the range like he did back in June, but will give a speech and greet supporters, among whom will be members of his newly formed coalition. The campaign event was on Cruz's schedule before the shooting occurred in San Bernardino.

ABC News' Jessica Hopper contributed to this report.