Woman Confronts Beto O'Rourke at Rally: 'Hell No,' You're Not Taking My AR
One Colorado woman who embraces the Second Amendment confronted Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke at a town hall event Thursday in Aurora, Colorado, and vowed that she would never let him take away her guns.
O’Rourke, a former congressman from Texas, gave an enthusiastic push for mandatory gun buybacks during the most recent Democratic presidential debate in Houston, Texas.
“Hell yes, we are going to take your AR-15, AK-47,” O’Rourke said then.
Lauren Boebert of Rifle, Colorado, who operates a restaurant called the Shooter’s Grill where the wait staff openly carries, took O’Rourke to task for his remark, defying the jeers of the crowd around her.
“Gun-owning Americans that heard your speech and heard what you had to say, regarding ‘Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15s and AK-47s,’ well, I am here to say, hell no, you’re not,” she said as O’Rourke urged the crowd scolding her to allow her to speak.
Boebert said she’s familiar with the effects of mass shootings.
“I was living in Aurora during Columbine, I had just recently moved when the Aurora shootings happened,” she said, noting that she still has close ties to the community. “All of those people were there defenseless, they had no way to defend themselves against a crazed shooter.”
A woman confronts Beto O’Rourke over his claims that he is going to confiscate people’s guns
She tells him “Hell no!”
O’Rourke’s supporters were so rude to the woman that O’Rourke repeatedly has to tell them to knock it off pic.twitter.com/LD9ORGJHHT
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 20, 2019
Boebert said the only way law-abiding citizens stand a chance against the evil of the world is to have the means to defend themselves.
“I want to know how you intend to legislate evil. It is not the gun, it is what is in the heart of the hearts of man,” she said.
Boebert said the kind of gun confiscation plan O’Rourke supports would strip protection from “American citizens like myself, American mothers. I have four children, I am five-feet zero, 100 pounds, cannot really defend myself with a fist.”
Boebert then said she left her AR at home, but was carrying her Glock handgun as a buzz went through the crowd.
Open carry is legal in Colorado.
She then challenged O’Rourke and demanded to know how he would “legislate the hearts of men,” noting that by definition, criminals break the law.
Boebert’s restaurant has received national attention for its support of open carry laws.
Lauren Boebert, mother of 4, didn’t plan on becoming the poster girl for #opencarry http://t.co/Zxo33hGG71 pic.twitter.com/ojc0a1EJtQ
— Pallavi Gogoi (@pgogoi) October 2, 2014
“Guns are welcome on premises. Please keep all weapons holstered unless need arises. In such case, judicious marksmanship is appreciated,” reads the sign at the door of the restaurant, which has copies of the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Pledge of Allegiance on the walls.
Boebert said she began carrying openly for safety.
“I didn’t intend to make a statement,” she said. “I was just going about life as usual and people started making statements for me.”
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