O’Rourke responds to state lawmaker’s AR-15 tweet: ‘This is a death threat’

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) called out a Texas state legislator Thursday night for a tweet that he likened to a “death threat” following the latest Democratic presidential debate.

O’Rourke responded after state Rep. Briscoe Cain (R) quoted the Democrat’s response to a question about assault weapons in the debate and tweeted, “My AR is ready for you, Robert Francis,” referencing O’Rourke’s birth name.{mosads}

Cain had shared an earlier tweet from O’Rourke’s account that quoted the former congressman’s remarks in the debate in Houston in which he drew applause by declaring, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15.” 

“This is a death threat, Representative. Clearly, you shouldn’t own an AR-15—and neither should anyone else,” O’Rourke tweeted.

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, 2019

Cain tweeted in response to O’Rourke, calling the Democratic presidential hopeful “a child.”

Cain also sent an earlier tweet responding to another Twitter user who asked if he was threatening the Texas Democrat by calling that Twitter user an “idiot.”

You’re a child Robert Francis https://t.co/rU3WoYQFQV

— (@BriscoeCain) September 13, 2019

O’Rourke has made gun reform a central part of his campaign since the mass shooting in his hometown of El Paso last month that killed 22 people.

During the debate Thursday night, O’Rourke reiterated his remarks blaming President Trump’s rhetoric for inspiring the suspected gunman in the mass shooting, who told the police he intended to kill “Mexicans.”