During the Democrat Presidential debate in Houston on Thursday, September 12th Francis “Beto” O’Rourke stood by his call for a mandatory government buyback program for AK-47 and AR-15 rifles, saying “I am” when asked if he was “proposing taking away their guns”. While O’Rourke’s threats to take away guns might not alarm you, the response from the crowd should.
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When further questioned by ABC moderator and “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir, O’ Rourke went on to talk about the relatively small caliber 5.56 ammunition used in most civilian AR 15 sporting rifles as well as the military M4 and M16 variants by saying “If the high-impact, high-velocity round when it hits your body shreds everything inside of your body because it was designed to do that so that you would bleed to death on a battlefield and not be able to get up and kill one of our soldiers.”
This statement alone indicates Mr. O’Rourke has a severe lack of actual knowledge concerning firearms as the truth about the 5.56 round is very different. While the 5.56 is certainly lethal, there are many calibers that are much more devastating. Even more indicative of his lack of understanding is that he talks specifically about the “high-velocity” round of the AR 15 but then goes on to include AK 47 rifles in his mandatory buyback even though they utilize entirely different ammunition.
Interestingly, many hunting rifles use calibers that are not only larger but travel at higher velocities and do much greater damage upon impact. It would be reasonable to assume that if velocity and impact are the deciding factors for confiscation then other popular weapons would soon follow.
However, even armed with flawed information and a clear lack of understanding of firearms, the presidential hopeful went on to make the now-famous comment, “Hell yes we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.”
This open threat of gun confiscation indicates a shift in the rhetoric from the left as up until very recently even those in favor of strict gun control laws have been publicly saying, “no one is taking your guns”. One may assume that even those in attendance at the Democratic Debate would be shocked or surprised by this more aggressive stance however, that was clearly not the case. In fact, this was one of the loudest applause moments of the entire debate. Although some more moderate Democrats like U.S. Senator Chris Coons are not quite ready for Beto’s radical approach, this does seem to be the direction of the party shift.
While extreme rhetoric can often be expected by candidates polling in low single digits in a crowded field, the response from the crowd may indicate a dangerous shift in the Democrat electorate. The question is, will the Democrat Party move back toward their former stance of “sensible gun regulations” or will they begin en masse embracing open confiscation? If the response from the attendees at the 3rd Presidential debate is any indication, they will continue to move further away from the Constitution and the will of the people.
- Beto O’Rourke Appears Desperate to Find Support for Gun Confiscation - September 20, 2019
- Democratic Debate Attendees Cheer Threat to Take Away Some 2nd Amendment Rights - September 18, 2019
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