Sandy MaloneWashington, DC – A National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) official called Presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke’s gun buyback plan a “joke” and said it “reeks of desperation.”
FOP National Vice President Joe Gamaldi told FOX & Friends on Tuesday morning that O’Rourke’s idea was ridiculous and would put police officers in harm’s way unnecessarily.
“The only thing more idiotic than Beto O’Rourke suggesting that we should go door-to-door and seize citizens’ – who are following the laws – property, is his current presidential run,” Gamaldi said. “I think he’s polling at two percent.”
“It puts our officers in a very dangerous situation where we’re showing up to someone’s house, we’re armed, these people are – obviously citizens – are armed,” he ranted. “And now you expect us to seize their guns? Give me a break!”
O’Rourke doubled-down on his plan to take legally-owned “weapons of war” away from U.S. citizens and said he would send police door-to-door to take the guns away in an interview with MSNBC the morning after the October presidential debate.
O’Rourke has focused much of his campaign’s time and attention on promising to ban all “assault-style” rifles, such as the popular AR-15s, because they have been used in several mass shootings in the United States.
However, the candidate had been wishy-washy as to how he would actually take the guns out of the hands of their owners who purchased the weapons legally.
At first, O’Rourke claimed that American gun owners would “do the right thing” and turn in their guns if the laws were changed during his administration, the Washington Examiner reported.
But his opponents and members of the media have repeatedly asked the Presidential candidate how he would confiscate the guns that people did not give up voluntarily.
On Wednesday, O’Rourke told MSNBC that under his administration, AR-15s would be taken away by force, if necessary.
“To be clear, I’m not talking about confiscating anybody’s guns,” he said. “But I do think that for those weapons of war – AR-15s, AK-47s – these were designed and sold to the militaries of the world to kill people on the battlefield and there are more than 16 million of them in America, and we’ve seen the devastating effect they can have in Dayton, Ohio or El Paso, Texas, or Odessa, not too far from where I live. Those must be bought back or each of them are potentially an instrument of terror in this country.”
O’Rourke continued to insist that law-abiding citizens would willingly turn in their guns.
And for those who don’t voluntarily give up their “assault rifles,” he told MSNBC there would be consequences.
“I think just as in any law that is not followed or flagrantly abused, there have to be consequences or else there is no respect for the law,” O’Rourke said. “In that case, I think there would be a visit by law enforcement to recover that firearm and to make sure that it is purchased – bought back – so that it cannot potentially be used against somebody else.”
He failed to address how he would convince police officers to carry out his plan.
Gamaldi told FOX & Friends that O’Rourke’s plan made no sense and blamed the Texas’ candidate’s failing campaign.
“I think this just reeks of desperation,” he said. “He’s falling behind in the polls. He’s doing anything that he can to get attention. So of course, just like he did during his Senate campaign – which he lost, by the way – is that he’s taking a shot at the hard working men and women of law enforcement like he did during that time.”
Gamaldi said the real conversation to be having was about district attorneys all over the country releasing thousands of repeat gun offenders to re-offend, over and over again.
“But if we want to have a real conversation about guns in this country, let’s have it,” he said. “Let’s talk about using the law we have right now and throw the book at these dirtbags who are victimizing the hardworking people of our community.”