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
Trump vows to ‘unleash’ commercial fishing off New England, reversing Obama-era Atlantic restrictions
Ex-‘Squad’ Dem appears to be leaning on radical activist at center of damning Tlaib report in comeback bid
Deadly Consequences: Illegal Alien Who Was Released by Biden Administration Accused of Killing Innocent Man
Virginia Dems take tax hikes into overtime, target fantasy football leagues
Republican majority at risk? A look at the 6 GOP Senate seats most in jeopardy in midterm elections
Mob of anti-ICE activists to march on Portland mayor’s home
Epstein files implode British politics with ‘biggest scandal’ in ‘over one century’
Hegseth ending military education ties with Harvard amid Trump feud: ‘We train warriors, not wokesters’
Children’s book author Kouri Richins says scandal and notoriety poisoned her murder trial
Hegseth says National Guard members shot in DC ambush by Afghan national will receive Purple Heart
SBA freezes over 100,000 California borrowers in sweeping $9B pandemic fraud crackdown
Israeli Government-Funded ‘Mobile Museum’ Set to Visit US Churches to Promote Zionism
Hundreds of Bizarre References to ‘Pizza’ in New Epstein Documents Raise Eyebrows
Watch: NFL Players Accidentally Prove Bad Bunny Is a Horrible Choice for Super Bowl Halftime Show
Conservative firebrand vows to purge ‘RINOs’ in battle to replace retiring Vern Buchanan in open Florida seat
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
