Beta O’Rourke, a former Democrat presidential hopeful, has seemingly pulled a hard 180 on one of the main campaign trail stances from his 2020 campaign.
While on the trail of the Democratic primary, O’Rourke is well known for his shouted call from the debate stage, “Hell yes, I’m going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.” His passion for the subject seemed to stem from the reason that, while at the rally where O’Rourke removed himself from the primary and issued his endorsement to Old Uncle Joe, Biden stated that he would be bringing O’Rourke along on his campaign to assist him and his administration with a gun control strategy.
O’Rouke then doubled down on his stance by saying that he continued to stand by his comments back in November of 2021.
Beto O'Rourke stands by infamous pledge to 'take' guns from Americans if elected Texas governorhttps://t.co/MwUsCiIufb
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 21, 2021
“I still hold this view,” stated O’Rourke in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding, “Look, we are a state that has a long, proud tradition of responsible gun ownership. 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.”
Congressman Lance Gooden (R-TX) called out O’Rourke then, tweeting out, “Today, Beto O’Rourke stood by his pledge to CONFISCATE guns from law-abiding Americans. How many elections does Beto have to lose until he realizes voters HATE his anti-2nd Amendment agenda?”
Today, Beto O'Rourke stood by his pledge to CONFISCATE guns from law-abiding Americans.
How many elections does Beto have to lose until he realizes voters HATE his anti-2nd Amendment agenda?
— Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) November 22, 2021
Despite his original stance, O’Rourke, who is now running for the Governor’s office in Texas, seems to have swapped his original anti-gun stance over the past couple of months.
“I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone. What I want to make sure that we do is defend the Second Amendment,” [O'Rourke] said. https://t.co/9w2U3eVbYQ #TXGOV
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) February 9, 2022
As part of a campaign stop held in Tyler, Texas on Tuesday, O’Rourke, a former Texas Congressman, answered a question from a group of reporters about his stance on guns, and he seemed to have finally shown a complete 180 on his initial stance.
“I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone. What I want to make sure that we do is defend the Second Amendment. I want to make sure that we protect our fellow Texans far better than we’re doing right now,” stated O’Rourke. “And that we listen to law enforcement, which Greg Abbott refused to do. He turned his back on them when he signed that permitless carry bill that endangers the lives of law enforcement in a state that’s seen more cops and sheriff’s deputies gunned down than in any other.”
Despite the appearance of his 180-degree turn, not everyone is entirely convinced of this sudden change of heart. Ramesh Ponnuru, the editor of National Review, seemed to suggest that the move was just a political smokescreen, “Beto O’Rourke is running away from his position on guns like it was a car crash.”
If O’Rourke takes a win in his bid to take incumbent Governor Greg Abbott out of his seat, he will be the first Democrat to hold the seat in Texas since back in 1995, after former Governor Ann Richardsfailed to hold the seat in 1994 against George W. Bush.