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Democratic Gov. Texas Gov. Beto O’Rourke appears to have once again changed his position on the AR-15.
O’Rourke, who has tried to use the shooting at the school in Uvalde, Texas to boost his governorship campaign, has repeatedly changed his position of gun control during his various bids for the post.
More recently, O’Rourke’s campaign silently edited the “gun safety” section of its website, changing a call to “reduce” the number of AR-15s in a statement that no civilian should own the weapon.
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Beto O’Rourke, who ran against Governor Greg Abbott in 2022, interrupts a press conference led by Abbott in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP Photo / Dario Lopez-Mills)
The Internet Archives’ Wayback Machine shows that as recently as April 1, the “Arms Security” page included a section that said, “And while it may not be easy or politically safe to say, I think We must firmly reduce the number of AR-15s and AK-47s on our streets. ”
Sometime since April 1 (the most recent archived date), the campaign edited the section to say, “And while it may not be easy or politically safe to say, I don’t think any civilians have to own an AR-15 or AK-47 “.
Earlier, O’Rourke had downplayed his gun control after falling behind Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in the polls.
Beto O’Rourke and Gov. Greg Abbott run against each other in the 2022 Texas gubernatorial election. (Getty Images)
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When he ran for president in 2019, O’Rourke expressed support for banning the sale of AR-15 and confiscating weapons from current owners, saying, “Yes, we will take your AR-15 “. O’Rourke held that position as recently as November 2021.
But in February, O’Rourke took a more moderate stance. “I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone. What I want to make sure we do is defend the Second Amendment. I want to make sure we protect our fellow jeans much better than we are doing now,” he said. he told reporters.
O’Rourke’s position in 2019 was a deviation from what he said in 2018 as he ran against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
“We support the Second Amendment, if you have a gun, keep it,” O’Rourke said in 2018. “No one wants to take it away from you, at least not me.”
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Although O’Rourke has stepped up his rhetoric after the Uvalde shooting, saying no civilian “should” have an AR-15, he has not said whether he would try to ban guns in Texas if elected governor.
His campaign did not return a Fox News Digital email seeking clarity on the candidate’s position.