Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has faced scrutiny after previously hidden videos resurfaced, in which he questioned the Second Amendment and proposed altering it to guarantee a right to healthcare. El-Sayed, who has campaigned on denying he supports defunding the police, hid approximately 100 videos on his YouTube channel before launching his Senate campaign, according to reports.
In one video posted on April 6, 2023, El-Sayed suggested amending the Constitution: "What if we tweaked the Constitution, amended the amendment, and instead of the right to bear arms, we change it to the right to have health care?" He argued that such a change would lead to "fewer people dying by gun and more people living because they have health care."
Another video, dated May 26, 2022, featured El-Sayed arguing that the Second Amendment does not apply to individual Americans, but only to a "well-regulated militia." He suggested that firearms should only be possessed by designated groups, such as police forces. This interpretation was rejected by the Supreme Court in the 2008 landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller, which affirmed an individual's right to possess a firearm unconnected with militia service.
El-Sayed's campaign did not comment on whether his views on the Second Amendment have changed since these videos were posted. The candidate has also been noted for campaigning with figures such as socialist streamer Hasan Piker, known for controversial statements, and has previously been associated with socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.