O’Rourke: Time to find ‘common ground’ on gun control

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that Texas needs to find “common ground” on gun control by respecting the Second Amendment while also requiring safety measures on firearms.

O’Rourke, the 2022 Democratic candidate for governor of Texas, slammed current Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for what he described as “extreme” gun policies in the interview with KXAN-TV in Austin, Texas, citing a Quinnipiac poll that found only 6 percent of Texans agree with Abbott’s policy of no background checks.

O’Rourke’s comments come after last month’s deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 elementary school children and two teachers dead.

“Our kids shouldn’t have to be afraid to go back to school this August, but many of them will, because this government has literally taken no action, no action at Uvalde, no action after Santa Fe High School, the massacre in El Paso, Odessa, Southern Spring. He’s done nothing to improve safety,” O’Rourke told KXAN, referring to Abbott.

O’Rourke highlighted moderate gun control measures that both Republican and Democratic residents of his state can get behind, some of which appear in a bipartisan Senate plan considered this week in light of the Uvalde shooting.

“Universal background checks, red flag laws, safe storage laws — these are things that most Texans agree with,” O’Rourke said.

He added, “This is the agenda of Texas, not the Democratic Party, not the Republican Party, but the people of this great state.”

O’Rourke claimed in the interview with the Texas TV station that the gun policies enacted by Abbott have been counterproductive and put more people in danger.

“In fact, by signing permitless carry that allows anyone to carry a loaded gun without a background check, training or vetting whatsoever, he’s actually made it far more dangerous in the state of Texas for kids in schools but also for law enforcement, who begged him not to sign the law because more cops had been gunned down in the state of Texas than any other,” he said.

O’Rourke acknowledged the importance of guns to the culture of Texas, highlighting that he is a fourth-generation Texan, but said that the Lone Star State can “respect the Second Amendment” while taking measures to protect children and others.

KXAN and The Hill are both owned by Nexstar Media Group.