Meet Briscoe Cain, Texas state legislator and apparent fan of mechanical penises like the AR-15. Here's a tweet he sent to Beto O'Rourke after O'Rourke tweeted the same promise he made during the debate Thursday:

Yeah, it sounds like a threat to me, too, particularly when he used Beto's first and middle names -- Robert Francis -- an apparent reference to another Robert Francis, gunned down in the prime of his life.

People on Twitter actually did give him the benefit of the doubt.

TexasSquire pointedly asked for clarification:

did you, uh, just threaten to shoot a former member of Congress and current candidate for president? — Tex A. Squire (@texasquire) September 13, 2019

To which Cain replied with a terse, "You're an idiot." That prompted a follow up which hasn't yet been answered.

From there, it was off to the races, with folks reporting him to Twitter, the FBI and the Secret Service. And opining:

This guy clearly doesn’t have the temperament or mental capacity to have a hobby gun like the AR. 🚩 — Blue Texas (@BlueTexas6) September 13, 2019

“Responsible gun owner” — James Geluso (@atlemar) September 13, 2019

Threatening to murder someone w/ your gun is not a great argument against having that gun taken away. — Mangy Jay (@magi_jay) September 13, 2019

And, yes, this is a violent threat entailing murder. What else is the AR-15 gonna do? Lick him? — Mangy Jay (@magi_jay) September 13, 2019

A state rep threatening murder. welcome to Y'all Qaeda. — Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) September 13, 2019

In his defense, Cain claims he has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism which can definitely affect how he relates to others as well as how he communicates.

"I, along with countless others who experience these challenges brought on by Asperger's and autism, communicate and express myself in a way that's different from others. If I don't maintain eye contact with you, it's not an intentional nonverbal cue of disrespect. Body language, reading it, and appropriate use of it does not come naturally for those on the spectrum," Cain said, during a speech on the Texas House floor.

All that may be true, but Asperger's doesn't cause people to make immoral threats against other human beings. Threatening a candidate running for president with a weapon of mass death is simply immoral. Autism has nothing to do with it, and he shouldn't use it as an excuse.

UPDATE: Beto responds:

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

UPDATE: Twitter has removed the tweet because it threatened violence against another. However, there should be consequences for a LAWYER making threats like that.