Beto O’Rourke Demands Gun Ban, Mandatory “Buyback” In Campaign Reset

By Cam Edwards

Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke used the city of El Paso as the backdrop to a reset of his struggling presidential campaign on Thursday while calling for a ban on semi-automatic rifles and a mandatory “buyback” of tens of millions of rifles currently legally possessed by millions of Americans.

“I see more clearly than I ever have — that not only do we need universal background checks; not only do we need red flag laws, that would stop somebody when they pose a danger to themselves or someone else; not only do we need to end the sale of assault weapons and weapons of war, that were designed for the battlefield and have no place in our communities,” he said. “We must as a country buy those weapons, take them off the streets altogether.”

O’Rourke, who has previously said he was “open” to such a measure but has stopped short of explicitly endorsing it, joins fellow Democratic candidates New York Mayor Bill De Blasio and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in calling for a mandatory federal buyback program. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has also indicated support for the measure.