Twice-failed candidate Beto O’Rourke, who recently announced a gubernatorial bid in Texas, said he stands by his controversial pledge to take Americans’ assault-style rifles from them.
During an interview with CNN, O’Rourke was asked whether he still wants to confiscate certain firearms from people if elected.
“I still hold this view,” he replied.
“Look, we are a state that has a long, proud tradition of responsible gun ownership,” he continued. “And most of us here in Texas do not want to see our friends, our family members, our neighbors shot up with these weapons of war. So, yes, I still hold this view.”
O’Rourke made the infamous pledge during his failed presidential campaign in 2019.
“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” he told a crowd at the time. “We’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore.”
The Texas Democrat announced last week he is challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for the governorship.
“It’s not going to be easy. But it is possible,” O’Rourke said in an interview with the Associated Press ahead of his announcement. “I do believe, very strongly, from listening to people in this state that they’re very unhappy with the direction that [Gov.] Greg Abbott has taken Texas.”
O’Rourke claimed in his interview with CNN that Texans support gun control and even agree with him that Americans shouldn’t be allowed to own and use assault-style weapons.
“We don’t want extremism in our gun laws. We want to protect the Second Amendment. We want to protect the lives of our fellow Texans. And I know that when we come together and stop this divisive extremism that we see from Greg Abbott right now, we’re going to be able to do that,” he said.
