Don't Need to Be Sensitive to Islamic Terrorists, Ted Cruz Says In Response to Gun Rally

— -- From an Iowa gun store and range, presidential candidate Ted Cruz defended himself against criticism that it was insensitive to hold a rally celebrating the Second Amendment in the wake of the San Bernardino shooting.

Cruz unveiled his campaign's Second Amendment Coalition at Crossroads Shooting Sports in Johnston, Iowa. The coalition of more than 24,000 people support both the right to keep and bear arms and Cruz's presidential bid. Cruz equated gun rights to a check on government tyranny.

"It is this constitutional right that keeps us safe," Cruz said. "The Second Amendment is about something very fundamental. It’s about the God-given right of every single one of us, to protect our home, our families, and our lives."

The senator did not fire a weapon at his stop at the gun range today. The rally comes just two days after the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., left 14 people dead and 21 injured.

"You know folks in the media ask at the behest of Democrats, isn’t it insensitive for us to do a Second Amendment rally following this terror attack. Let me tell you something, I really don’t view our job as being sensitive to Islamic terrorists," Cruz said..

Cruz, who has been endorsed by Gun Owners of America and has said on the trail he has a Beretta shotgun at home, attacked the Obama administration for promoting a conversation around gun control in the wake of the San Bernardino shooting. Cruz told reporters that "the way you stop the bad guys is having a free and armed citizenry that can protect ourselves."

"You don't stop bad guys by taking away our guns. You stop bad guys by using our guns," Cruz told the cheering crowd.

The Texas senator said the focus of the national conversation about the shooting should be on "radical Islamic terrorism." As he uttered the words, his supporters shouted "radical Islamic terrorism" with him.