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Does Beto O’Rourke support confiscating AR-style guns? What he said in Friday’s debate

Candidate for Texas governor Beto O’Rourke backed off his 2019 comments supporting the mandatory buyback of AR-style guns during Friday’s gubernatorial debate.

It was during his bid for president that O’Rourke said “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.

“We’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore,” he said at the time. The comments came after 23 people were killed in a shooting at an El Paso Walmart, O’Rourke’s hometown.

Two years later, O’Rourke is now running for Texas governor against Republican incumbent Greg Abbott. The Democratic nominee was asked about his current position on the confiscation of AR-style weapons during a Friday debate in Edinburg.

O’Rourke said it’s clear after the shootings in El Paso and Uvalde that “the only place AR-15 and AK-47s make sense is on a battlefield.”

“But as governor of the state of Texas, I need to be focused on what we can get done,” O’Rourke said, advocating for raising the age to buy such weapons, red-flag laws and universal background checks as doable measures.

Dallas Morning News reporter Gromer Jeffers, a moderator, pressed: “Yes or no, are you for confiscating AR-style weapons?”

“I’m for making sure that we make progress,” O’Rourke said, noting the three measures are areas where common ground might be found.

The question came after a remarks at a February event in Tyler where he said ““I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone,” according to KLTV.

Abbott was asked about his position on raising the age to by an AR-15 style gun from 18 to 21, which Abbott has said he thinks is unconstitutional. The policy has been pushed for by the family members of those killed at Robb Elementary School in May.

Abbott said he wants to prevent school shootings, but that cannot be done “by making false promises.”

“It’s a false promise to suggest that we can pass a law that will be upheld by the constitution to raise the age,” he said.

There have also been calls for a special legislative session since the shooting.

“We don’t need to call a special session in order to take action,” Abbott said during the debate, noting directives in the days after the shooting.

Abbott said he would make school safety an emergency item when lawmakers meet in January for the coming legislative session.

“If it’s an emergency, call a special session now,” O’Rourke said. “Why wait until the next year?”

On law enforcement’s response to the attack, Abbott said, “there needs to be accountability for law enforcement at every level for not following the Columbine protocol.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.