Former congressman Beto O’Rourke’s vow to take AR-15s from gun owners appears to represent a stark reversal from his failed Senate run last year.
At Thursday night’s Democratic presidential debate, O’Rourke was pressed by ABC’s “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir about whether he was proposing “taking away” guns from lawful gun owners. He said he was, specifically weapons “designed to kill people on a battlefield.”
“When we see that being used against children and in Odessa, I met the mother of a 15-year-old girl who was shot by an AR-15. And that mother watched her bleed to death over the course of an hour because so many other people were shot by that AR-15 in Odessa and Midland. There weren’t enough ambulances to get to them in time,” he said. O’Rourke’s hometown of El Paso also was the scene of a recent mass shooting.
He then vowed, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47. We’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore!”
His campaign has even produced a shirt with the slogan.
Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15.
Buy your shirt now: https://t.co/kEJxoLvfH5 pic.twitter.com/KKpAKX4IL8
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) September 13, 2019
Democrats who ‘never voted Republican’ back Rogers over El-Sayed in razor-close race
Angel Dad takes major new role after daughter’s killing sparks sweeping illegal alien crackdown
Police identify suspect accused of terrorizing Philadelphia women while wearing creepy Chucky-style mask
Philadelphia woman says she used stage combat training to fight off masked man chasing residents
Key Democratic Senate Candidate’s Campaign Descends Into ‘Complete Chaos’
FBI raids Eric Swalwell’s property, seizes devices at airport in sexual misconduct investigation
Sherrill escalates Trump fight over voter fiasco day after Mullin praises NJ cooperation
ActBlue co-founder pleads Fifth Amendment in closed-door House GOP grilling
Ocasio-Cortez endorses Massachusetts Senate incumbent Ed Markey
USS George Washington arrives in Middle East
Presumed Lead Candidate to Replace Karoline Leavitt Says She’s ‘Not in the Running’
U.S. Conducting Successful ‘Stealth Operation’ in the Strait of Hormuz: Report
Harry and Meghan Abandoning US, Returning to Britain as Eye-Watering Monthly Cost of Their CA Mansion Is Revealed
Bloodied, ejected Marine Corps pilot seen calm and collected after Washington crash destroys aircraft
New judge has days to decide whether Karmelo Anthony’s conviction and 35-year sentence survive
However, O’Rourke had a much different stance when he was running for Senate. During an interview on “The Chad Hasty Show” in April 2018, the host asked: “I own an AR-15. A lot of our listeners out there own AR-15s. Why should they not have one?”
“To be clear, they should have them,” O’Rourke responded. “If you purchased that AR-15, if you own it, keep it. Continue to use it responsibly.”
He added later in the same interview: “If you own a gun, keep that gun. Nobody wants to take it away from you — at least I don’t want to do that.”
Since O’Rourke’s run for Senate, there have been several mass shootings in the U.S., including in El Paso, which he has said has changed his view on gun control.
Source: Fox News
