During his town hall in Aurora, Colorado on Thursday, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke again addressed our country’s gun violence epidemic. At least two pro-gun advocates showed up to challenge Beto regarding his Democratic debate vow: “Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47! We're not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore!”
Beto’s response to one woman highlighted the absurdity of her claim that she’d be left “defenseless” without a weapon of war.
“I am here to say: Hell, no, you’re not,” Lauren Boebert said to scattered jeers.
She’d driven three hours from Rifle on the Western Slope to deliver that message. She owns a restaurant ..., where the wait staff packs heat, and her Glock handgun was holstered at her side Thursday. Boebert, 32, pressed O’Rourke to explain “how you intend to legislate the hearts of men and leave American citizens like myself” defenseless.
“I refuse to accept that” people are inherently evil, O’Rourke responded. “This doesn’t happen in any other country. There are 329 million of us. There are 390 million guns. No other country has this kind of ratio. No other country allows its citizens to buy weapons that were designed for war. … The logic of your argument is, Why shouldn’t we allow you to have a bazooka or drive a tank down the street?”
Another pro-gun advocate asked whether Beto would ban more types of guns.
Then lied about Beto’s reply. Pro-gun advocates are going to lie no matter what Democrats say about gun control.
Even some Democrats are pushing back against Beto’s attempts to prevent gun violence.
The overwhelming majority of those affected by gun violence, though, support Beto’s efforts to rein in the proliferation of guns in our country.
All over our country, Americans know that the gun violence epidemic must not be normalized and are hoping that someone will finally stand up for our right to not live in fear. From Iowa to South Carolina to Colorado, voters are supporting Beto because he has taken a firm stand on gun control.
Y’all should read the entire thread from a Colorado roundtable with gun violence survivors, but here are some excerpts:
I’ll leave you with Max Boot: Thanks, Beto, We need to debate an assault-weapon buyback.
O’Rourke has certainly shown courage on this issue. As a U.S. Senate candidate in Texas — Texas! — he advocated a ban on selling assault weapons. Now, following the massacre in his hometown, El Paso, he has been radicalized to go further. He is not, however, on a political kamikaze mission. Nearly 75 percent of Democrats support an assault-weapons buyback — and an even greater number support a ban on their sale. In a recent Post-ABC News poll, as my Post colleague Philip Bump points out, a buyback program was even backed by 31 percent of Republicans and 37 percent of people who live in households that have guns. [….]
Second Amendment absolutists will scream that Americans have a right to own guns. That’s true — but there are limits. You can’t bring home a functional tank, a rocket-propelled grenade or a machine gun (at least not without a federal license). You shouldn’t be allowed to own a military-style assault rifle, either. It’s a weapon of war that has no place in civilian hands, and for all the political risks inherent in O’Rourke’s stance, I am glad to see a mandatory gun buyback entering the Overton window.
As am I.
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