Actress Alyssa Milano hugs US Senator Ted Cruz after 'civil' meeting over the Second Amendment and reveals their talk left her 'optimistic' about the prospect of gun reform

  • Actress Alyssa Milano has met with US Senator Ted Cruz to discuss gun reform
  • She had previously accused the Republic of being 'owned by the gun lobby'
  • Milano was accompanied by Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the Parkland shooting in February 2018
  • She now says that she is 'cautiously optimistic' Cruz is willing to do something

Actress Alyssa Milano has said that her 'civil' conversation with US Senator Ted Cruz has left her 'cautiously optimistic' about gun reform.

Meeting at the Republican's Washington DC office, the pair went back and forth on the partisan topic, debating whether any common ground could be found for over an hour.

And as they stood up to leave at the end of the meeting, Milano even chose to embrace Cruz in a hug as a show of goodwill. 

They were joined by Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was killed in the 2018 Parkland shooting in Florida.

Alyssa Milano and Senator Ted Cruz shared a hug after discussing the controversial topic of gun reform in his Washington DC office

Alyssa Milano and Senator Ted Cruz shared a hug after discussing the controversial topic of gun reform in his Washington DC office

Alyssa Milano met with Ted Cruz (second from left) at the Republican's Washington DC office, where the pair went back and forth on the partisan topic, debating whether any common ground could be found for over an hour

Alyssa Milano met with Ted Cruz (second from left) at the Republican's Washington DC office, where the pair went back and forth on the partisan topic, debating whether any common ground could be found for over an hour

Cruz has been a leading voice for expansive Second Amendment rights, and a few days after the mass killing in West Texas on August 31, Milano called his advocacy 'bulls***'
Milano and Cruz have previously clashed over the issue of the 2nd Amendment, with the actress even slamming Cruz as being 'owned by the gun lobby

Cruz has been a leading voice for expansive Second Amendment rights, and a few days after the mass killing in West Texas on August 31, Milano called his advocacy 'bulls***'

'I'm walking out of this hopeful that we can find a way to save lives,' Guttenberg told Cruz in a livestream of the conversation. 

Milano and Cruz have previously clashed over the issue of the 2nd Amendment, with the actress even slamming Cruz as being 'owned by the gun lobby'.

Cruz has been a leading voice for expansive Second Amendment rights, and a few days after the mass killing in West Texas on August 31, Milano called his advocacy 'bulls***'.

However, the comments didn't put him off accepting her proposal to meet for a discussion on the contentious issue.

'When you send out social media tweets, I just want you to be mindful of not creating more of a divide ... and just be mindful that this [government] has to function,' she said.

'We have to do something. We cannot not do something anymore because too many people are dying.'

Mr Guttenberg also laid in on Cruz, showing him pictures of daughter one day before her death on February 14 and saying 'this is the last photo I will see of her'.

He then attacked the Senator for making the gun debate partisan, saying 'your decision to do this really p***** me off'. 

Milano and Cruz have previously clashed over the issue of the 2nd Amendment, with the actress even slamming Cruz as being 'owned by the gun lobby'

Milano and Cruz have previously clashed over the issue of the 2nd Amendment, with the actress even slamming Cruz as being 'owned by the gun lobby'

Cruz spent much of the conversation pushing a 2013 bill he wrote with Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. He said it would have prevented the 2017 mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, near San Antonio, had it not been blocked in 2013.

The bill would provide resources to prosecute those who break gun laws and those who fail background checks, while requiring government entities to accurately submit information to the national background check database.

'We should strengthen background checks,' Cruz said, indicating that his bill was the way to do that.

Milano asked Cruz to encourage Senate Republicans to debate measures such as universal background checks for firearm purchases.

After concluding the meeting, Milano tweeted: 'I just left. He was gracious. I'm unsure if it changes anything. But appreciative for the opportunity to bridge the divide with civil, meaningful, discussion. Link to entire meeting below. #NoRA'.=

Speaking later to Chris Cuomo on Fox News, she added: 'I'm cautiously optimistic that he knows the issue and hopeful, I guess, that he's willing to do something about it.'

'He takes a lot of money from the NRA, he has been on the wrong side of this issue, but I do understand how fossilised we are as far as parties.' 

Ted Cruz tweeted: 'Always grateful for the opportunity to engage in positive, civil discussion on substantive issues. Today's meeting with @Alyssa_Milano and @fred_guttenberg was productive and respectful, and I appreciate their willingness to come here with an open mind.' 

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