Democrats are worried Robert “Beto” O’Rourke is playing into Republican hands with his relentless gun confiscation talk.

The Hill reports that Democrat Sens. Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin have both distanced themselves from O’Rourke’s comments. Breitbart News reported Manchin as saying this week, “[O’Rourke’s] not taking my guns away from me.”

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) also expressed his belief that O’Rourke’s confiscatory talk “was a bit of a gift to the NRA.”

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) said he would support a “voluntary” buyback of AR-15 rifles rather than the mandatory one O’Rourke is proposing.

Breitbart News reported that O’Rourke used the September 12, 2019, Democrat debate to tell AR-15 owners, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15.” Breitbart News noted that O’Rourke’s admission was a game-changer, as it showed the Democrats’ intention to seize guns.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation calculates 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.