In Aurora, Beto O'Rourke says he's open to broadening gun buyback proposal

[TexasTowelie]

AURORA, Colo. — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke says he’s open to broadening his proposal to require owners of AK-47s and AR-15s to sell them to the government.

During an emotional town hall Thursday in Aurora, a man who identified himself as a survivor of the 1999 Columbine massacre noted that the shooters there didn’t use the military-style weapons O’Rourke wants to take. They instead used regular semi-automatic weapons. He challenged O’Rourke to confiscate those arms as well.

O’Rourke told reporters afterward: “If there’s a way to improve what we proposed, I want to make sure we’re reflecting that.”

Most pistols and many rifles in the U.S. are semi-automatic. In contrast, there are about 10 million AK-47s and AR-15s out of more than 300 million firearms in private hands in the country.

O’Rourke may have unknowingly answered the question precisely how the Columbine survivor wanted him too. Multiple conservative operatives confirm the man who asked the question is a gun rights activist who has spoken out against gun control in the past.

Read more: https://kdvr.com/2019/09/19/in-aurora-beto-orourke-says-hes-open-to-broadening-gun-buyback-proposal/

[pangaia]

1. 10 million AK-47s and AR-15s !!

Shit, the entire US military can;;t have THAT many...!!

And the intention of a military is primarily to kill people..


What is the intention of those NOT in the military??

[VarryOn]

3. All the AR-15 owners I know..

(Myself included) just like shooting the gun...mostly for plinking around at the range. It's incredibly accurate and can make you look better at shooting targets than you would on many others.

It's not that expensive ($600-700) for a rifle, and for most gun owners, it has a "badass" look unlike most other guns in their collections. It's just gotten so popular over the last 20-30 years that any gun owner with more than 4 or 5 guns will almost always have one in their gun safe.

Despite what gun nuts say, it's not a hunting rifle. It's caliber is fairly small.

I wouldnt and dont use it for home defense. And I doubt many do. It's bullets would easily go through walls inside a home. Something you dont want.

[pangaia]

4. So it's not something you need..you just like..... shooting things, " plinking." Right ?

And it will "........make you look better at shooting targets than you would on many others."
So , do i understand correctly, it makes you " look good" ?


I just want to understand why people have such a thing.

[VarryOn]

5. Need? No. It's a 'want' for me...

I'm not sure anyone 'needs' an AR, though.

And yeah, it can make you look like a better shooter than you probably are.

It's no doubt been a weapon on choice with mass murderers. That said, 99.9%+ AR-15 shooters are guys like me. They like to shoot it, but dont shoot at people.

But, if the feds want to purchase my AR, I would sell it back. After all, I would no longer be able to shoot it for fear of being caught. And I'm guessing the ammo would be illegal anyway.

But, as there are other guns I'd like to have, I'd probably head to the gun shop to buy something new.

[aikoaiko]

6. Lethal force is OK for self defense.

There are pros and cons for using any particular firearm in a home or self defense situation, but an AR has a lot of good qualities including being very effective with a single round.

[pangaia]

8. Yeah. I guess so.

BTW-
Why are they called 'firearms?"

Why not just GUNS ?

[MicaelS]

13. To differentiate them from ...

Guns powered by springs, air or gas.

[Iliyah]

2. Go Beto!

He is making a difference. He cares.

[aikoaiko]

7. Of course Beto wants to expand his list of guns to take from labiding folks.

Was there any doubt?

[cwydro]

9. Yeah, looks like he fell into that guy's trap.

Expanding his list of guns to be confiscated is not going to be a winner for him.

[Humanist_Activist]

12. Beto's not going to win the primary, that's for sure, but he might be useful as an activist...

who moves the overton window on Gun control for us to be more aligned with nations like Canada or Australia. Then, maybe in a decade or two, people won't be so gun crazy in this country anymore.

[Devil Child]

10. Not at all, even the blind can see Beto's endgame n/t

[Humanist_Activist]

11. To make a dent in firearm deaths, handguns, semi-auto or not, should be the primary target...

most firearms deaths are from handguns, and there really isn't a practical reason to own one.

I frankly don't care how many shotguns or semi-auto rifles people own, if you want to blow away Bambi or take a .22 and take out Thumper, knock yourself out.

And the idea that "Law-abiding" people are being targeted, you are law-abiding until you aren't.

[aikoaiko]

14. "...you are law-abiding until you aren't."

Sure, but that's a meaningless statement.

You're a law-abiding driver until you drink and drive.

You're a law-abiding videographer until you video child porn.

You're a law-abiding computer user until you send death threats over email

[Humanist_Activist]

19. We criminalize all those or hope to catch people before they do damage.

That's the point, its to illustrate that criminal background checks will have limited utility, as they do now. If you wanted to make significant reductions in firearm deaths, you need to restrict the sale and possession of said firearms.

[Devil Child]

15. Better lock us all up

Since us law abiding gun owners are nothing more than pre-criminals to you.

[Humanist_Activist]

18. Everyone is a pre-criminal, in a technical sense...

hell I could suffer a head injury that leads to violent outbursts tomorrow, the question is, should I be able to buy a handgun or full-auto rifle to maximize the damage I could do?

Much better than locking everyone up, am I right?

In addition, I don't really see what is alarming about this, its not that much different than how gun laws operate in Canada.

[Devil Child]

20. I give zero fucks how they do it up in Canada

"Canadian-style" firearm laws applied to US is something I am vehemently opposed to, will always vote against, and will always advocate against.

If you can clear the background check then yes I support your hypothetical purchase of your hypothetical full-auto rifle.

p.s. You do realize full-auto weapons are NOT typically available to citizens without going through extensive multi-level application process right?

https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/national-firearms-act-nfa

[Humanist_Activist]

21. Why are your toys more valuable than the thousands of lives that can be saved...

by restricting the public from accessing them?

Also, what you say is true, and again, semi-auto rifles only account for a small percentage of deaths due to firearms in this country. Hence why I find things like the "Assault Weapon Ban" to be of limited utility.

[Devil Child]

22. Why should I sacrifice my (and my fellow citizens) constitutional rights for the crimes of others?

Only one thing left to do, get your supported legislation passed and we shall see how this plays out in the courts. Best of luck to you and your allies efforts.

[Humanist_Activist]

23. Oh, it would require a constitutional amendment, at the very minimum...

frankly this twisted gun culture that seems to be relatively unique to the United States is rather damaging to our populace. The culture will have to shift more and more, and as people get more urban, the more it shifts in a direction I find productive. Fewer people own guns overall after all, with fewer households carrying them.

Your right to a firearm may be constitutional, but that doesn't put it on the same level as the right to free speech or assembly.

[cwydro]

16. Huh?

You are law-abiding until you aren’t? Wtf?

[Humanist_Activist]

17. Its an illustration of the limitation of the criminal background check...

even when widely implemented, even a comprehensive check is going to overlook those who may display characteristics that may lead to violence using guns. I would prefer that no one had easy access to handguns, to minimize the damage some people may cause in the future.

[BlueMississippi]

24. k&r nt

[NYMinute]

25. Beto da man

All non-NRA Americans are cheering for him and they are an overwhelming majority.