AUSTIN — When Beto O’Rourke said during a nationally televised debate during his ill-fated pursuit of the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination that “hell, yeah,” he would confiscate assault weapons, he handed Republicans a staged attack ad. .
And even before O’Rourke formally entered the gubernatorial race, Republican incumbent Greg Abbott rarely missed an opportunity to remind Texan gun owners that the former El Paso congressman would be coming after their hunting rifles, pistols and any other firearm you could. put your hands on
But in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting at a Texas school and several other similar incidents in recent years, some observers said the comment might not be as damaging to O’Rourke’s fortunes with the November election less than six years away. months.
“In a way, this event helps contextualize what he meant and gives him a kind of personal edge,” Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, said of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
“One of O’Rourke’s biggest needs is to move college-educated Texans, especially those living in the suburbs, and women to his side. This issue certainly drives that demographic.”
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When O’Rourke made the comment on a debate stage in Houston in September 2019, the mass shooting that claimed 23 lives at a shopping mall in his hometown six weeks earlier and the deadly shooting in Midland-Odessa the same month were still in the headlines The partisan crowd inside the venue erupted in cheers.
But once the headlines faded, any political appetite to restrict the availability of firearms in Texas faded with them. And before O’Rourke secured the nomination to face Abbott this fall, the Democrat also appeared to back down on the comment.
“I’m not interested in taking anything away from anyone,” he told reporters at a campaign stop in February. “What I want to do is make sure that we uphold the Second Amendment. I want to make sure that we protect our fellow Texans much better than we are doing right now.”
In a social media thread Tuesday night, former Austin and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo continued to criticize Texas Republican leaders for failing to take meaningful action to keep guns away from people in trouble. mental health and require background checks for virtually all weapons. Sales.
Acevedo, now a private consultant, criticized several political leaders, including Republican US Sen. Ted Cruz, for saying politics should not be discussed as Texans recover from another mass shooting.
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In an interview Tuesday night, Acevedo called on leaders to rebuke the gun lobby and focus on what’s best for public safety.
“We the American people deserve better,” said Acevedo, chief of Austin from 2007 to 2016 and of Houston from 2016 to last year. “Cops deserve better.”
He also criticized leftist politicians for what he said was an unwillingness to adequately punish lawbreakers for crimes that might not galvanize public opinion.
In his social media thread, Acevedo gave O’Rourke a backhanded compliment for his willingness to speak out about restrictions on the most dangerous weapons. But he took issue with the candidate’s choice of words.
“Sure thing, we’re going to do everything we can to keep firearms in the hands of sane, law-abiding Americans (which is supported by the majority of sane, responsible, law-abiding Americans). the law) and we will hit the perpetrators of weapons, violence would have been better, ”the former chief tweeted.
Jennifer Harris, a Republican communications and messaging strategist who came of age when George W. Bush and the party’s moderate wing helped dye Texas red, said O’Rourke’s “hell yeah” comment should be the beginning of a much-needed speech on guns. in Texas and not a political checkmate that ends the debate.
“If you look at Beto’s comment in its full context, it’s at least an argument,” said Harris, who is the mother of a teenager and has become disillusioned with the GOP’s strong lean to the right. “She gave Abbott campaign material, but if you look at it as a whole, it’s more reasonable.”
But Bill Miller, a veteran lobbyist and political operative in Austin, said the political discussion emerging from the Uvalde tragedy is more likely to focus on issues like mental health and school safety, which is how Abbott sought to steer the discussion. . at his affected community press conference on Wednesday.
“It’s the biggest tragedy you can imagine, but what it really underscores is mental health and children,” Miller said. “How you get there is a moot point.”
Harris admitted that Texas leaders will again pivot to the sentiment expressed by both Abbott and Miller, at least until the next tragedy.
“The battle is my heart against my head,” Harris said. “I think maybe this is finally the time that we can have the discussion. But my head tells me we’ve done this over and over and there’s been no progress.”
John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @johnniemo.
Reference-www.caller.com