U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, visited Leander on Feb. 19 to discuss gun control at LaRue Tactical, a Leander-based rifle and firearm accessory manufacturer.

The freshman senator, who received bipartisan criticism last week for speaking out of turn, was met by supporters, local and national press, two members of City Council, several Leander city staffers and LaRue Tactical employees.

Cruz centered his speech on the protection of Second Amendment rights and accused Democrats of using the Newtown, Conn., shooting as a gateway to infringe on constitutional liberties. True to his campaign platform, Cruz said he would not be silenced by Washington politicians on any matter, especially gun control.

"President Obama and the Democrats in Congress feel emboldened to try to take advantage of a tragic situation in order to strip the rights of law-abiding citizens. The effort is cynical, political and wrong," he said. "Texans understand the importance of the Second Amendment, and I don't think Washington politicians should take away our fundamental rights."

Rather than trying to enact new gun controls, Cruz said states should focus on enforcing existing laws. LaRue Tactical Marketing Director Mark Finger agreed that newly proposed gun laws such as those that limit magazine size would not prevent mass shootings.

"With magazines, one round is fatal. The hazards that some people see with a 20- or 30-round magazine just don't make sense," he said. "When put into that context, you can say a baseball bat should be outlawed because you can put a nail in it and hurt someone."

Finger also said LaRue Tactical stands for American ingenuity during a time when most manufacturing has been outsourced to China. Mark and Ellen LaRue started the company in 1980, and in the past 10 years it has grown from about a dozen employees to 126 staff members, Finger said.

The company builds battle rifles, firearm accessories and survival gear sold to the U.S. military as well as the general public through licensed arms dealers.