After a gunman in west Texas killed five people and injured more than 20 in Midland and Odessa Saturday, White House hopeful and former Texas lawmaker Beto O’Rourke (D) said that, while the facts of the shooting have not been released by officials, “we do know this is f—ed up.”
“Not sure how many gunmen. Not sure how many people have been shot. Don’t know how many people have been killed. The condition of those who have survived. Don’t know what the motivation is, do not yet know the firearms that were used or how they acquired them,” O’Rourke told a crowd of supporters during a campaign speech in Fairfax Station, Virginia.
“But we do know this is f-cked up. We do know that this has to stop in this country. There is no reason that we have to accept this as our fortune, as our future, as our fate,” he continued.
O’Rourke also blasted lawmakers for not passing gun safety legislation to address mass shootings across the country.
The Texas Democrat cited the Dickey Amendment, a 1996 law that prevents the use of federal funds to advocate for gun control. O’Rourke also criticized Congress for not passing universal background checks on weapons or closing other loopholes for gun sales.
{mosads} “This is not an act of God. This is not some natural disaster. This is a human-caused problem with a human solution, and, if you’re willing, we can be the humans who are going to do something about this,” O’Rourke said.
O’Rourke also discussed his visit to an Arkansas gun show earlier this month at a campaign stop, where he talked with gun sellers and firearm owners about possible gun control solutions. He said one man, who owns a rifle, said he was hesitant to give up his gun to a government guyback program, which O’Rourke has endorsed, but he worries about his children’s safety.
“Another guy who owns an AR-15 says ‘I don’t know that I’m willing to give this up, but I’ve got three kids in school just like you have three kids in school. And they’re scared to go to school every day and I’m scared for them. Something’s got to change,’” O’Rourke said.