Beto O'Rourke's pledge to 'take your AR-15' has already earned him death threats, including from a Texas lawmaker

(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

published 13 September 2019

In case you missed Beto O'Rourke's "hell yes!" moment when he underscored his support for mandatory government buybacks of certain military-style rifles during Thursday's Democratic debate, he repeated it on Twitter — with merch.

After the debate, O'Rourke argued that the Second Amendment, like all constitutional rights, has limits, noting that there are already weapons that civilians are not allowed to own.

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If O'Rourke did actually get elected and somehow got a mandatory buyback program through Congress, he obviously wouldn't be the one knocking on state Rep. Cain's door to ask to buy his AR-15. It would be a law officer — though if that's Cain's big idea, he wouldn't be the first Republican state representative to threaten to shoot a police officer this year.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.