Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke insisted Friday night that his gun control proposals can be accomplished without law enforcement going door-to-door to confiscate firearms.
The former Texas congressman’s oft-repeated “Hell yes, we’re gonna take your AR-15” slogan was countered Thursday night by a tweet from Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain, who wrote, “My AR Is Ready For You Robert Francis.” While the statement was considered a threat by gun control advocates on Twitter and even deleted by the social network, Cain countered that it was just another way of saying “Come and take it.”
Appearing on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” with guest-host Joy Reid, O’Rourke was asked about how law enforcement would “be protected from people who are essentially admitting that the way that they would protect their ability to own these weapons is to use them.”
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O’Rourke said he had “confidence” in “the people of this country” to follow the law before telling a story about his interactions with gun owners at an Arkansas gun show who all seemed “like they would follow the law.”
“We are a nation of laws,” he said. “It’s part of what defines us and distinguishes us from the rest of the world. So I believe that America will comply with the law, and I believe that there will be a due process in devising a law in the first place where we listen to stakeholders all concerned and affected but do not allow the delays that we’ve seen that have lasted decades to stop us from finally acting on this.”
The former Texas congressman called the assumption from Cain and others that gun control would involve door-to-door searches “hype” and “scare tactics.” (RELATED: Dana Loesch Blasts Beto Campaign For Selling T-Shirt With ‘Threat’ To ‘Forcibly Steal’ Americans’ Property)
“Much like we don’t go door-to-door to enforce almost any law in the United States – in fact, I don’t think we do that for any law in the United States – this is not something that we would do. Others have said, you know, this is something we would fear if there were a mandatory buy back program. No, we expect people to follow the law. That’s certainly what I believe will happen.”
O’Rourke echoed a similar theme Monday while speaking to a reporter in Manchester, New Hampshire.