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Republican state representative issued what Beto O'Rourke is referring to as a "death threat" last night in response to O'Rourke's vow to pursue gun confiscation policies if elected president.Briscoe Cain, who represents the Houston area in the
Texas state legislature, wrote “my AR is ready for you Robert Francis” in a since deleted tweet sent Thursday night in response to's O'Rourke enthusiastic confirmation that he would forcibly confiscate AR-15 and AK-47 rifles if elected.“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” O'Rourke said during the third
Democratic primary debate in Houston.O'Rourke responded to Cain's tweet by arguing that the message alone should disqualify him from owning an AR-15.> This is a death threat, Representative. Clearly, you shouldn't own an AR-15—and neither should anyone else. pic.twitter.com/jsiZmwjMDs> > -- Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) September 13, 2019Twitter deleted Cain's tweet roughly two hours after it was posted because it violated the company's prohibition against issuing violent threats.O'Rourke's campaign told
CNN that it plans to report Cain's message to the FBI.The former Texas congressman has prioritized impassioned pleas for increased
gun control during most public appearances since 22 people were shot and killed in a Walmart in his hometown of El Paso last month.In addition to calling for a policy of mandatory confiscation, in which gun owners who refused to sell their firearms to the government would be criminally liable, O'Rourke is urging major financial institutions not to finance gun transactions.“However inadvertent or deliberate, credit card companies and banks profit off of those who terrorize our communities,” O’Rourke said in an email to voters on Thursday. “And we know that in this moment, no one can sit on the sidelines. Everyone has a responsibility to do their part.”O'Rourke's gun-control proposal, released last month, also calls for the creation of a national gun registry, and a ban on bump-stocks, silencers, and magazines that hold more than ten rounds.