Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo,) drew outrage on X after sharing her prayers with “Lewistown, Maine” following a mass shooting Wednesday night that killed at least 18 people.
“Know that the entire country is praying for you,” Boebert added in her Wednesday night post.
Boebert’s post, which misspelled the town name of Lewiston, remains up as of Thursday morning.
“It’s Lewiston, imbecile,” said one X user.
“Can’t even get the name of the city right,” replied another person.
“Can’t even spell the name of the place where such a tragedy took place! It’s Lewiston, not Lewistown!” wrote someone else. “Just goes to show that if you don’t care to spell it right, you really don’t care about what happened.”
Some users cared less about—or didn’t notice—the typo, but highlighted Boebert’s policy stances and past comments regarding guns and Second Amendment rights.
“You sponsored a bill to make the AR 15, the weapon used in tonight’s slaughter, America’s ‘national gun,'” wrote one user in response. “You not only don’t give a shit, people like you are why this keeps happening.”
Brady PAC, which promotes lawmakers working to combat gun violence—replied with Boebert’s 2021 Christmas photo of her family posing with guns.
Boebert is adamantly pro-gun rights and in May, introduced legislation seeking to repeal bipartisan gun control reform measures that were passed in the wake of mass shootings including at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York and at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
The bill enhanced background checks for gun purchasers between the age of 18 and 21, banned purchasing firearms through straw purchases or trafficking, incentivized states to pass red flag laws, and more.
“I unapologetically support the Second Amendment,” Boebert said in a statement in May. “No amount of gun control will ever eliminate evil in our society, and unsurprisingly, the data has shown time and again that gun control does not decrease gun violence.”
Maine, where Wednesday’s shooting occurred, has very loose gun control laws. It does not require background checks, lacks red flag laws, does not ban high-capacity magazines, and does not require a permit to carry concealed guns.
Reports have stated the suspect, Robert Card, “recently reported mental health issues to include hearing voices and threats to shoot up the National Guard Base” in Saco, Maine and spent two weeks in a mental health facility this summer.
