Beto O’Rourke makes a surprise visit to Arkansas gun show

Presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke made an unannounced visit to a gun show in Arkansas to discuss his plan to ban assault weapons and a gun buyback program. 

The Texas representative made the stop at the show in Conway on Saturday where he discussed his plan and potential solutions to gun violence with gun owners and vendors. 

This was his first stop on the campaign trail after he paused briefly to support the people in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, where a gunman opened fire in a Walmart, killing 22 people and leaving dozens more injured. 

In a statement, O’Rourke’s campaign said: ‘In order to make progress, Beto believes we have to meet people where they are, and not be afraid to have hard conversations with people who may not always agree.’ 

Presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke made an unannounced visit to a gun show in Conway, Arkansas to discuss his plan to ban assault weapons and a gun buyback program

O'Rourke, who paid $10 to enter the show, walked through aisles lined with handguns, AR-15s, stun guns, hunting rifles, scopes, magazines and knives and spoke with gun owners and vendors

O’Rourke, who paid $10 to enter the show, walked through aisles lined with handguns, AR-15s, stun guns, hunting rifles, scopes, magazines and knives and spoke with gun owners and vendors

According to ABC, O’Rourke paid $10 to enter the show and ‘walked through aisles lined with handguns, AR-15s, stun guns, hunting rifles, scopes, magazines and knives’.   

He also spoke to gun vendor Preston Linck who supported closing the gun show loophole where background checks are unnecessary. 

ABC reported that when O’Rourke asked Linck whether he would accept a requirement that vendors need a federal firearms license, he said he would.

‘Just the only little problem I see is there’s so many guns out there, even if you tried to stop selling, they’re already out there,’ Linck reportedly told O’Rourke. 

A gun show attendee and self-described Trump supporter told the presidential hopeful that he owned many firearms and assault rifles.   

‘If you want votes, you’re not going to get them by talking about taking this away from people. People are going to find a way to kill people,’ he told O’Rourke, according to the ABC.

O'Rourke thanked people for speaking to him at the event, but made it clear that he supports a complete ban on assault weapons in a tweet posted after the event

 O’Rourke thanked people for speaking to him at the event, but made it clear that he supports a complete ban on assault weapons in a tweet posted after the event

On Friday, the Texas representative announced a plan which would ban the sale of assault weapons, and other gun control measures

On Friday, the Texas representative announced a plan which would ban the sale of assault weapons, and other gun control measures

Although O’Rourke thanked the people at the Conway gun show for speaking to him during the visit, he tweeted: ‘ … if I’m president, you wouldn’t be able to buy weapons of war for $395. You wouldn’t be able to buy them at all’.

He later also tweeted: ‘Insulin costs $450 a month. An AR-15 costs $395 for a lifetime. It shouldn’t be more affordable to kill than to stay alive.’ 

In July, O’Rourke’s campaign announced he would be making a keynote address at the Clinton Dinner.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that in his speech on Saturday night, O’Rourke accused President Donald Trump of stoking racial resentment and fears against immigrants. 

He added that it led to an increase in hate crimes, such as the shooting El Paso. 

‘That violence, that hatred, that racism, it found us,’ O’Rourke said. 

He later added that: ‘Person after person came up to me in Little Rock and said, “I’m afraid. I’m afraid for my parents, I’m afraid for my kids. I don’t want people to live in fear”. 

‘So we have to stand up to Donald Trump, and we also need to stand for rewriting our immigration laws in a way that elevates these people that are contributing so much.’

In a statement about the visit to the gun show, O’Rourke’s campaign said: ‘In a democracy and in this country, I hope, you’re never allowed to write anybody off because they’re a Republican, because they’re a gun seller, because they’re at a gun show. 

‘In fact, if you want to solve and address these challenges, listen to the people who understand it perhaps in some ways better than anybody.’ 

The National Rifle Association attempted to troll O'Rourke on Twitter, but he had a swift comeback

The National Rifle Association attempted to troll O’Rourke on Twitter, but he had a swift comeback

The NRA's attempt to mock O'Rourke included a laughing face emoji

The NRA’s attempt to mock O’Rourke included a laughing face emoji

But not everyone was impressed with his visit, with National Rifle Association attempting to troll him on Twitter. 

It quoted O’Rourke’s comment saying ‘If I am president’, with a tweet saying: ‘Beto: Have you taken a look at the polls?’.

Without missing a beat, he responded: ‘Yeah. I’ve seen them. 70% of Americans support an assault weapons ban, including most Republicans.’

On Friday, O’Rourke’s sweeping plan to combat gun violence included a complete ban on assault rifles, universal background checks on gun buyers and sellers, a gun-licensing and registry system and mandatory buybacks for assault weapons.   

He has admitted that his plan is not ‘politically easy’. 

‘It’s frankly why far too few people have proposed it. It’s frankly why I have not proposed it in the past,’ he said.

‘Regardless of what it does to our prospects going forward, you’ve got to speak the truth and be clear about where the solutions are.’ 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk