Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said fellow candidate Beto O'Rourke's calls to take away AR-15s and AK-47s does not help their push for more gun control laws.

The South Bend, Indiana, mayor was asked Sunday if O'Rourke's new catchphrase, "Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47," is "something that's playing in the hands of Republicans."

"Yes," Buttigieg answered. "Look, right now we have an amazing moment on our hands. We have agreement among the American people for, not just universal backgrounds checks, but we have a majority in favor of red flag laws, high-capacity magazines, banning the new sale of assault weapons. This is a golden moment to finally do something."

Because President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are "at least are pretending to be open to reforms, we know we have a moment on our hands. Let’s make the most of it and get these things done," Buttigieg added.

O'Rourke hit back at Buttigieg, asking how is it acceptable to leave "millions of weapons of war on the streets because Trump and McConnell are 'at least pretending to be open to reforms'?"

Leaving millions of weapons of war on the streets because Trump and McConnell are “at least pretending to be open to reforms”?



That calculation and fear is what got us here in the first place. Let’s have the courage to say what we believe and fight for it. https://t.co/SSnFT600Vm — Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) September 15, 2019

Democratic Delaware Sen. Chris Coons said while he appreciates O'Rourke's passion on the issue of guns, the video of his remarks at the fourth debate will be used against Democrats "for years."

O'Rourke responded to Coons on Twitter, saying, "the time for letting status quo politics determine how far we can go is over. If we agree that having millions of weapons of war on the streets is a bad idea, we have to do something about it."