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
Sen. Chuck Schumer Defends Democrats’ Decision to Sit During SOTU, After Trump Invited Them to Stand if They Support Americans Over Illegals
Ohio courtroom devolves into chaos after sentencing in death of teen
Fact-checkers challenge Trump’s ‘eight wars’ claim, back him on crime
Democrats’ big misfire at State of the Union has GOP strategists salivating: ‘Huge moment’
Child predator dubbed ‘monster parents fear most’ cleared for release through California parole program
Trump calls for ‘deranged’ Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar to be ‘institutionalized’ after State of the Union
Border-State Sen. Mark Kelly is Feeling the Heat After Refusing to Stand for American Citizens Over Illegals
Takeaways from the intense hearing with Trump surgeon general nominee Casey Means
Dem rising star’s SOTU rebuttal ripped by conservatives: ‘Anyone who claims she is a “moderate” is a liar’
Trump’s former Ukraine envoy criticizes US abstention on UN peace vote
WATCH: Fiery Brit Squares Up to Muslim and Savages Islamism to His Face – “Every Inch of This Land Is Mine”
CNN Poll: Majority of Viewers Felt More Optimistic About America’s Future After Watching Trump’s Speech
Trump Excoriates Democrats for Supporting Child Mutilation During SOTU Speech: ‘These People Are Crazy’
Dem Protests to SOTU: Bad Singing, Radical Giraffe Furries, Fake Tears, Pro-Trump Crashers, and Almost Zero Audience
Voters react as Trump calls Dems ‘crazy’ for not applauding ban on secret teen gender transitions
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
