Beto O'Rourke: 'Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47'

(Image credit: Screenshot/ABC News on Twitter)

published 13 September 2019

Beto O'Rourke is not mincing his words on gun control.

After seeing a mass shooting in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, the former congressman has become the loudest — and most expletive-laden — voice for gun control in the 2020 race. And when the topic came up at Thursday night's primary debate, O'Rourke gave a visceral case for why he's planning to institute mandatory assault weapon buybacks if elected.

When ABC News' David Muir on Thursday bluntly asked O'Rourke if he was "proposing taking away [Americans'] guns," O'Rourke responded "I am, if it's a weapon that was designed to kill people." He then gave a gruesome description of what happened to victims in the El Paso and Odessa, Texas shootings, and again said "Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47." That mirrors how, when asked right after the shooting if he would assure voters that he wouldn't take away their assault weapons, he said "that's exactly what we're going to do."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox