{"id":116652,"date":"2019-10-03T11:28:52","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T15:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=116652"},"modified":"2019-10-03T11:28:52","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T04:57:07","slug":"exclusive-beto-orourke-lied-exaggerated-about-his-conversations-with-gun-show-attendees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/exclusive-beto-orourke-lied-exaggerated-about-his-conversations-with-gun-show-attendees\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Beto O’Rourke Lied, Exaggerated about His Conversations with Gun Show Attendees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Exclusive:
Based on accounts from three of the people he spoke with, Beto hasn’t been entirely truthful about the content of his conversations at the gun show in Conway, AR. (Photo: Brian Foster)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To hear Robert \u201cBeto\u201d O\u2019Rourke describe the conversations he had in August at a gun show in Conway, AR., one might be forgiven for wondering whether The Natural State had seen a gun control Renaissance. According to the former Texas Congressman and current 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate, the gun owners he met expressed support for some of the most radical anti-gun policies, including an \u201cassault weapon\u201d buyback program and universal background checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The O\u2019Rourke campaign wasted no time capitalizing on the alleged conversations. O\u2019Rourke has mentioned his interactions at rallies and fundraising events<\/a>, and the campaign used O\u2019Rourke\u2019s visit to the gun show to re-brand their candidate as the Democratic race\u2019s preeminent gun-control activist. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a GunsAmerica investigation has found that O\u2019Rourke misrepresented and, in some cases, totally fabricated the exchanges he had at the Conway Gun Show on August 17. We spoke with the two men quoted in ABC\u2019s original coverage<\/a> of the event, and they both take issue with the way their comments have been used and distorted by the O\u2019Rourke campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also spoke with another vendor at the gun show whose\nconversation with the candidate was never reported. There\u2019s a reason: in that\nconversation, O\u2019Rourke revealed his ignorance of the gun buying process even as\nhe proposed a plan to significantly restrict that process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you support a gun\nbuyback?\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rourke took a break from campaigning following the massacre in his home town of El Paso, and when he returned on August 15, his focus had shifted almost exclusively to gun control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he told the New York Times, \u201cI think El Paso reminded me\nor brought home for me how urgent this situation is out there in the country right\nnow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rourke\u2019s campaign was also in dire need of a shot in the arm.\nThe candidate had been polling consistently in the 1-3 percent range, and even\nTimes reporter Mark Leibovich admitted the \u201centire campaign feels like one\ngiant non-sequitur.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Paso gave O\u2019Rourke a focus, and two days after returning\nto the trail, he walked into the Conway Gun Show, in Conway, Ar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spoke with at least three attendees, only two of whom were\ncovered in the original ABC News report. One of those men, Larry Beaver,\nrecognized O\u2019Rourke and walked up to ask, in his words, \u201cWhy in the hell are\nyou here? You\u2019re against everything going on here, especially the assault\nrifles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beaver told GunsAmerica that he had only a brief\nconversation with O\u2019Rourke. When the candidate mentioned \u201cweapons of war,\u201d\nBeaver pointed out that anything could be a weapon of war, even one of the\nknives being sold at the gun show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEE ALSO: Beto O\u2019Rourke Raising Money for Gun Control with \u2018This Is F*cked Up\u2019 T-Shirts<\/a> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rourke soon moved on to other attendees, but a reporter approached Beaver to ask whether he would support O\u2019Rourke\u2019s \u201cassault weapons\u201d buyback program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beaver responded \u201cin a sarcastically smart-ass way\u201d that \u201cyes,\nI would, if the rest of America would do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reporter failed to hear or willingly ignored Beaver\u2019s\ntone, and reported instead that Beaver \u201csaid he might be willing to support\nO’Rourke’s assault weapons buy-back plan.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beaver flatly denies this construction of his comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m not giving my guns up. I\u2019m not that guy,\u201d he told GunsAmerica. \u201cWhy in the hell would I even be at a gun show looking at an ‘assault rifle’ if I wanted someone to take them from me? Why would he think that I\u2019m the kind of guy who wants to give up my AR-15s and my 551A1 and my AR pistol and my AK-47? It doesn\u2019t make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beaver’s larger point, and what he tried to communicate to the reporter, is that even if he did hand over his “assault weapons,” the policy would have no effect on crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I said, it doesn\u2019t matter what you guys try to take away,” Beaver said. “There\u2019s so much hate in this world. People are going to find a way to inflict harm on other people.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rourke\u2019s version of events is even more off-base than the reporter\u2019s. This is how he described his \u201cconversation\u201d that same evening at the Third Annual Clinton Dinner:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another voter there, a Trump voter, said, \u2018I have an assault weapon.\u2019 He acknowledged that you don\u2019t need that to hunt. You don\u2019t need that for self-defense in your home. That\u2019s a weapon designed for the battlefield. He said, \u2018I don\u2019t know if it would do any good, but I would be willing to turn that weapon in if it\u2019s better for this country.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Beaver doesn\u2019t remember telling either the reporter or O\u2019Rourke\nthat \u201cassault weapons\u201d aren\u2019t needed for hunting or self-defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, me and Beto didn\u2019t talk about that,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t hunt with my ARs but I would use my ARs for home defense. My AR is a perfect home defense weapon. But if I was going hog hunting, I would definitely use an AR.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GunsAmerica reached out to the O\u2019Rourke campaign but has not\nreceived a response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also contacted the ABC News reporter who spoke with\nBeaver, Jeffery Cook, to ask for a comment. Cook claims to have audio of his\nconversation that \u201cproves\u201d his account, but he has not responded to requests to\nrelease the audio. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you support\nuniversal background checks?\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rourke\u2019s second reported conversation was with a vendor\nnamed Preston Linck. Linck is not a federally licensed dealer but had attended\nthe event to sell guns from his personal collection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABC News reported that Linck \u201csupports closing the so-called\ngun-show loophole and requiring background checks for all gun sales.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rourke\u2019s comments<\/a> have gone even further: \u201cThe guy said, \u2018I shouldn\u2019t be able to sell guns at this show.’ Literally. He said, \u2018That\u2019s not right.\u2019 That guy believes in universal background checks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GunsAmerica spoke with Linck, who admitted that he did tell O\u2019Rourke\nthat, as a private seller, he is not required to perform background checks. But\nhe takes issue with the idea that he \u201csupports\u201d universal background checks. He\ntold us that he would abide by any new background check law that Congress passes,\nbut he wouldn\u2019t advocate for the policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSupport is too strong a word,\u201d he said. \u201cI want us to\ncontinue to have gun shows. I\u2019m not for them making everyone do a background\ncheck. But if they\u2019re going to make us do that, I\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linck describes himself as non-political. He said he didn\u2019t\nknow O\u2019Rourke\u2019s gun policies before he spoke with him, and he simply answered O\u2019Rourke\u2019s\nquestions as truthfully as he could. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he unequivocally denies saying, \u201cI shouldn\u2019t be able to\nsell guns at this show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course I didn\u2019t say that. I would like to be able to\nsell guns,\u201d he told us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA Forty-Four Seventy\nWhat?\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rourke had at least one additional conversation during his\nvisit to Conway. It wasn\u2019t reported by ABC News, but an image of the discussion\nwas seen by thousands of people on Twitter and on the home page of the New York\nTimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brian Foster is the man speaking with O\u2019Rourke in the image that the candidate tweeted after leaving the gun show. Foster is a concealed handgun license instructor<\/a> and a licensed dealer, and on that day, he was having a sale: AR-15\u2019s for $395. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Arkansas, I listened to gun owners and sellers\u2014and appreciated hearing their perspectives. But as the plan we released yesterday says, if I\u2019m president, you wouldn\u2019t be able to buy weapons of war for $395. You wouldn\u2019t be able to buy them at all. pic.twitter.com\/Pz8KuFq9Tt<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) August 17, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n

<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster told GunsAmerica that O\u2019Rourke was introduced to him by Arkansas State Sen. Denise Garner, and O\u2019Rourke\u2019s campaign staffers soon began taking pictures even though they had been told by the gun show organizers that pictures weren\u2019t permitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNobody wanted him there,\u201d Foster said. \u201cWe just thought he\nwas there to cause trouble, and he was, by lying and making all these\nstatements he\u2019s made.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster thinks he spoke with O\u2019Rourke longer than anyone, and\nhis conversation revealed O\u2019Rourke\u2019s ignorance of the basic requirements of\nAmerican firearm law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Arkansas man told O\u2019Rourke that if he really wanted to reduce\ngun-related crime, he should start with the people who try and fail to pass a\nbackground check. To make his point, he asked O\u2019Rourke, \u201cDo you know what it\ntakes to buy a firearm from a licensed federal firearms dealer like me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rourke responded, \u201cNo, I do not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEE ALSO: Robert \u2018Beto\u2019 O\u2019Rourke: \u2018Hell, yes, we\u2019re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47\u2019<\/a> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Foster walked O\u2019Rourke through the process, starting with Form 4473 and ending with the three possible outcomes of a background check. The only element with which O\u2019Rourke seemed to be familiar was the name of the instant background check system (NICS), and he appeared not to know whether federal and state law enforcement investigate those who fail a background check. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI asked, \u2018Do you know what happens with these denied\nbackground checks?\u2019\u2019\u2019 Foster recalled. \u201cHe said, \u2018No.\u2019 I said, \u2018Nothing.\u2019 So,\nhe gets a curious look on his face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not doing anything with these denials,\u201d Foster\ncontinued. \u201cIf you want to keep guns off of the streets, out of the hands of\ncriminals, then you have to do something with these denials. They have criminal\nintent because they\u2019re trying to purchase a firearm, and they\u2019re hoping it\ndoesn\u2019t get caught.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rourke\u2019s ignorance of the law hasn\u2019t stopped him from attempting to change it. Only days before attending the gun show in Conway, O\u2019Rourke released a massive slate of gun control proposals, which would restrict law-abiding gun owners at nearly every stage of the purchasing process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Foster, O\u2019Rourke asked to keep a copy of a\n4473. It was, apparently, the first time he\u2019d ever seen one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster believes he speaks for everyone at the gun show when\nhe expresses his disappointment with the way O\u2019Rourke and his staff used the\ncandidate\u2019s conversations to imply support for his gun control policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe twisted what we said. He didn\u2019t care about hearing\nanything,\u201d Foster said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t care about sharing his opinion. He didn\u2019t\nshare his opinion with me at all, other than that he wanted total gun registration.\nIt was like a stab in the back. We in good faith engaged in conversation with\nhim, and he acted like a typical crybaby liberal who lied about what was said\nand twisted anything that was said.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rourke\u2019s stunt and subsequent focus on a radical gun-control agenda<\/a> hasn\u2019t given him the bump he expected. According to the most recent surveys<\/a>, he\u2019s still polling in seventh place, in the 1-3 percent range. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a>***<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A GunsAmerica investigation has found that O\u2019Rourke misrepresented and, in some cases, totally fabricated the exchanges he had at the Conway Gun Show on August 17. We spoke with the two men quoted in ABC\u2019s original coverage of the event, and they both take issue with the way their comments have been used and distorted by the O\u2019Rourke campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":116653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,25,593,240],"tags":[132,607],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-116652","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gunsamerica-authors","8":"category-current-events","9":"category-jordan-michaels","10":"category-this-week","11":"tag-buzz","12":"tag-news"},"yoast_head":"\nExclusive: Beto O'Rourke Lied, Exaggerated about His Conversations with Gun Show Attendees<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Beto has used these alleged conversations on the campaign trail and at fundraising events, but the men he spoke with say he's been lying and exaggerating.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/exclusive-beto-orourke-lied-exaggerated-about-his-conversations-with-gun-show-attendees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exclusive: Beto O'Rourke Lied, Exaggerated about His Conversations with Gun Show Attendees\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A GunsAmerica investigation has found that O\u2019Rourke misrepresented and, in some cases, totally fabricated the exchanges he had at the Conway Gun Show on August 17. 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With family in Canada, he's seen first hand how quickly the right to self-defense can be stripped from law-abiding citizens. He escaped that statist paradise at a young age, married a sixth-generation Texan, and currently lives in Tyler. Got a hot tip? 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