Beto O'Rourke says 'we will take your AR-15s and AK-47s' in tough stand against semi-automatic guns
Beto O'Rourke, Texan politician and 2020 presidential candidate, presented quite an emphatic stance while talking about taking away people's assault rifles (ARs) during the Democratic debate on September 12.
The former Texas congressman, while speaking during the debate in Houston, Texas, reiterated his beliefs on semi-automatic weapons, and said he wanted to institute mandatory buyback of the arms which are "designed to kill people on a battlefield."
"Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47, you’re not going to be allowed to use it against your fellow Americans anymore," he said. O'Rourke's statement came in the wake of recent mass shootings in his home state, which left dozens dead. Semi-automatic weapons have been consistently used in the country's worst mass shootings.
O'Rourke also mentioned that President Donald Trump's rhetoric had influenced recent mass shootings in the country, including the El Paso shooting of August. The assailant had left a hateful and anti-immigrant manifesto online. Patrick Crusius, who opened fire in a crowded Walmart, killing 20 people in Texas, was seemingly inspired by the deadly Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand in 2018. Crusius sympathized with the Christchurch shooter, 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant's racist manifesto, as Tarrant particularly targeted Muslims praying in mosques.
"In general, I support the Christchurch shooter and his manifesto," 21-year-old Crusius wrote in his manifesto posted on 8chan. Days before the El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, shooting, President Trump wrote some controversial tweets seen in bad taste about four Congresswomen of color, known as "the Squad" in Washington, as he asked them to "go back" to their "crime-infested" countries and fix them. He made the statement despite all four of the Congresswomen being American citizens.
"A racism and violence that had long been a part of America was welcomed out into the open and directed to my hometown of El Paso, Texas, where 22 people were killed and dozens more grievously injured," O'Rourke said while debating on stage with nine other Democrat candidates.
The former congressman, during an interview on CNN earlier this month, had declared: “Yes, this is f–ed up,” when he was asked about widespread gun violence in the country. There have been nearly 10,000 gun violence-related deaths in the United States this year so far.