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


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.

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.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Politico's Blake Hounshell saw another consequence of O'Rourke's words: That he's effectively throwing another Senate bid in the trash. Kathryn Krawczyk
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
The people who raffle their homes
Under The Radar Offer the chance to win your house for £2 a ticket? It's simple and can make thousands but it's not stress-free
-
Stereophonic: an 'extraordinary, electrifying odyssey'
The Week Recommends David Adjmi's Broadway hit about a 1970s rock band struggling to record their second album comes to the West End
-
Shifty: a 'kaleidoscopic' portrait of late 20th-century Britain
The Week Recommends Adam Curtis' 'wickedly funny' documentary charts the country's decline using archive footage
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests
-
Trump foists National Guard on unwilling California
speed read Protests erupted over ICE immigration raids in LA county
-
Supreme Court lowers bar in discrimination cases
speed read The court ruled in favor of a white woman who claimed she lost two deserved promotions to gay employees
-
Trump-Musk relationship implodes in taunts, threats
speed read Musk said Trump's multitrillion bill would cause a recession and accused the president of involvement with Jeffrey Epstein