Florida state Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican, appeared to level a threat against the Biden administration on Wednesday in the wake of a fatal school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, cautioning the president against infringing on the 2nd Amendment as Democrats call for tighter gun regulations.
"I have news for the embarrassment that claims to be our President – try to take our guns and you'll learn why the Second Amendment was written in the first place," Fine tweeted, without any further explanation.
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Fine's tweet immediately went viral online, with numerous commentators expressing concern that the lawmaker might be threatening the president.
"We don't talk enough about how common it is for some folks to casually assert that they have the right to kill elected officials with whom they disagree," wrote New Republic writer Matt Ford.
"Further evidence that the Republican Party has completely lost its way," echoed Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y. "They are now the party of death, the party of the Great Replacement Theory, the party of Q'Anon, the party of lies and fear, and the party of fascism. Are there any [sic] principaled Republican left anywhere?"
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said that Fine's tweet was "exactly why we need gun discipline in America."
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"This MAGA-Republican argues we don't need violent history checks on firearms by violently threatening the President."
RELATED: Texas school shooting: The right responds to massacre by calling for more guns
Fine's remarks come as the nation continues to reel from the massacre in Uvalde, where a suspected 18-year-old gunman stormed Robb Elementary School, killing 19 children and two teachers on Tuesday.
Shortly after the shooting, President Biden made several calls for tighter gun control laws.
"I spent my career as a senator and as Vice President working to pass common sense gun laws," he said in a press conference this week. "We can't and won't prevent every tragedy. But we know they work and have a positive impact. When we passed the assault weapons ban, mass shootings went down. When the law expired, mass shootings tripled."
Uvalde is just one among dozens of cities to be targeted by school shootings this year, according to NPR. Within the last year alone, reports the Gun Violence Archive, the U.S. saw 693 mass shootings total.
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