Robert “Beto” O’Rourke pledged to go after AR-15s and AK-47s during Thursday’s Democratic debate in Houston, Texas.
ABC’s David Muir asked O’Rourke if he stood by his proposal for a mandatory buyback program, noting that many were equating it to gun confiscation.
“I am,” he replied, “if it's a weapon that was designed to kill people on a battlefield... If the high impact, high velocity round, when it hits your body, shreds everything inside of your body, because it was designed to do that, so that you would bleed to death on a battlefield and not be able to get up and kill one of our soldiers.”
He continued: “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, 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.”
David Muir: "Are you proposing taking away [American's] guns...?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 13, 2019
Beto: "Hell yes." pic.twitter.com/wg6VkrI0er
Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47. We’re not going to allow it to be used against a fellow American anymore. Chip in to our campaign. #DemDebate
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) September 13, 2019
Twitter responded as you'd expect.
Recommended
— Ed Bernas (@hazmat50213) September 13, 2019
Could you pass the background check to take possession of it with your DWI and burglary record? https://t.co/91klgnJOlF
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) September 13, 2019
Come and take it, you little furry https://t.co/VRDTxqGY7Q
— Storm Paglia ???? (@storm_paglia) September 13, 2019
Guns sales in America tomorrow and this weekend are going to be epic. https://t.co/Qt79jrqogg
— SalenaZito (@SalenaZito) September 13, 2019