Beto O'Rourke renews calls for tougher gun laws after Uvalde shooting, including on assault weapons

by Patrick Svitek, Texas Tribune


After the massacre in Uvalde, Beto O’Rourke is again picking up the mantle of an issue that has been front-and-center in his recent political career — and just as central to Republican attacks against him: gun control.

After the 2019 mass shooting at a Walmart in his El Paso hometown, O’Rourke famously called for a mandatory buyback program for assault weapons, proclaiming, “Hell yes,” he wanted to take those firearms. He was running in the 2020 presidential primary at the time, and while he has not renounced his support for that proposal, in his bid for governor he has focused on other, less contentious ideas to curb gun violence, such as universal background checks.

Throughout his campaign, he has said civilians should not have such weapons.

But last week, while visiting Uvalde, O’Rourke was newly assertive about the topic, advocating for a ban and rattling off a list proposed gun laws to reporters outside of Gov. Greg Abbott’s own news conference.

“It is insane that we allow an 18-year-old to go in and buy an AR-15. What the hell did we think he was gonna do with that?” O’Rourke said Wednesday in an emotional and angry exchange with reporters in Uvalde that was evocative of his comments to the media following the El Paso shooting.

“Right there, if you want a solution, stop selling AR-15s in the state of Texas,” O’Rourke added, standing outside of Uvalde High School.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/01/uvalde-beto-orourke-assault-weapons-ban/