Before, during, and after the Democrat debate, Robert “Beto” O’Rourke proved the left’s real goal is the seizure of firearms.

He led up to the debate campaigning on a government enforced buyback of AR-15s, AK-47s, and other commonly-owned semiautomatic rifles. On September 2, 2019, Breitbart News reported O’Rourke addressing “fears” that an O’Rourke administration would take away “assault rifles.” He said, “I want to be clear: That’s exactly what we’re going to do. Americans who own AR-15s and AK-47s will have to sell their assault weapons. All of them.”

During the September 12, 2019, debate, O’Rourke declared, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15.”

And on September 13, 2019, the morning after the debate, O’Rourke told MSNBC that the government enforced buyback of AR-15s, AK-47s, will not be “voluntary.” Rather, he made clear, “It is not voluntary, I want to be sure we make the distinction here, it is mandatory. It will be the law. You will be required to comply with the law.”

So much for Democrats’ decades-long contention they are not coming to take your guns.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation reports there are 16 million-plus privately owned AR-15s in the U.S.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.