Many Republican presidential candidates had a unique response to the mandatory gun zone order:
- Former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush greeted supporters from behind three 5-inch bullet proof glass screens at his first mandatory gun zone campaign event.
- Billionaire Donald Trump spoke to armed supporters earlier today while holding a flamethrower and having his body guards point their pistols at the crowd.
- Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) carried two M-16 rifles with him as he worked a crowd of supporters in Iowa.
- Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson confiscated the guns of all his supporters at a rally in Iowa today, and gifted them "laser guns," which appeared to be gun-shaped laser pointers.
- Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced today all of his future campaign events would take place via video conference, but he "would be glad" to give anyone who watched him a gun "if they did not already have one."
- Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie all but begged one of his four supporters in New Hampshire to take a shot at him to "fire up his campaign." None of his supporters obliged Christie.
- Fired Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina swapped all the American-made bullets contained in the guns of her supporters with cheap, Chinese-made rubber bullets.
- Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee refused to give supporters access to his campaign event in Iowa today unless they had both a gun and a Bible.
- Governor of Ohio John Kasich randomly fired complimentary "Kasich 2016" beanbags from a rifle during a rally in his home state.
- Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
- Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
- Governor of Louisiana Piyush "Bobby" Jindal
- Former Governor of New York George Pataki
- Former Governor of Virgina Jim Glimore
- Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)
The National Rifle Association released a statement echoing the right-wing media's response to the latest mass shooting by praising the Republican presidential candidates "for arming themselves and not volunteering to be victims."