George Santos says the AR-15 should be the national gun because the bald eagle is a predator

Out Rep. George Santos (R-NY) got national attention in February when he backed a bill to make the AR-15 – the weapon that has become notorious for its use in mass shootings – the “national gun of the United States,” similar to how the bald eagle is the national bird and how the oak tree is the national tree.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) called the bill to effectively glorify mass shootings “disgusting.”

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Santos appeared on the Macrodosing podcast and defended the bill.

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“I just don’t understand why we would need to have a national-” co-host Eric Sollenberger started to ask Santos.

“Well, we have a national everything!” Santos replied. “Why not have a gun? Why, why are we excluding guns?”

“Cuz gun violence in America, especially school shootings, is a uniquely American problem,” co-host Arian Foster shot back. “And to give a mascot to that is, it’s performative politics and it’s pointless. And y’all know it’s pointless. It doesn’t serve any actual purpose.”

“Does any national anything serve any points?” Santos asked.

“The national bird, bald eagle, bald eagles are sweet, they’re cool,” Sollenberger said.

“They’re also predatory,” Foster said.

“They’re a predator, to my point, right?” Santos said, as if animals preying on other animals for nourishment is of a similar moral character to mass shooters preying on the lives of children in schools.

While Santos represents a purple district in New York, he has lent his support to many far-right causes, including attacking transgender people’s rights, comparing abortion to slavery, and allying with white nationalist Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) to attack “Confucius Institutes” on college campuses.