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
Microsoft AI Chief Says Artificial Intelligence Will Do Most White-Collar Work by Next Year
Cities Church Defendant Who Likes Terrorizing Christian Children Launches Bizarre Message Outside Courtroom
Rubio breaks with Vance in tone of Munich address and tells Europe ‘we belong together’
SWAT swarms locations near Nancy Guthrie’s home as DNA found on property
Jasmine Crockett: ‘If I Go to Sleep, Democracy Very Well May Die’
Top Goldman Sachs Lawyer Quits Over Epstein Relationship, Media Glosses Over Her Connection to Obama
Conservative firebrand launches ‘TruckSafe Tipline’ to report illegal drivers amid spike in highway deaths
‘It’s absurd’: DHS shutdown bears down on US as lawmakers jet off to Europe
Cal State prof warns scrapping SAT in name of ‘inclusivity’ is leaving students unprepared
Ted Bundy’s cousin recalls the chilling moment that exposed the monster within
Here’s how the DHS shutdown could impact the lives of everyday Americans
Democrats test ‘Epstein class’ attack line against Trump’s orbit
‘Fiction’: House Republican campaign chair dismisses Democrats’ expanding GOP target map
Beloved figure skating coach, former Team USA medalist gunned down in Starbucks drive-thru: reports
Government shutdown hits DHS after Democrats blow up bipartisan funding deal over immigration uproar
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
