Beto O’Rourke backs vow to ‘take your AR-15, your AK-47’ in Texas governor’s race

"Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47," O'Rouke said at the time.

During the CNN appearance, host Dana Bash questioned O'Rourke about the comment, which he said during a Democratic presidential candidate debate in 2019, and whether he stands by the pledge while running for Texas governor.

"Look, we are a state that has a long proud tradition of responsible gun ownership. And most of us here in Texas do not want to see our friends, our family members, our neighbors shot up with these weapons of war," said O'Rourke.

"So yes, I still hold this view," he added.

O'Rourke continued to state that Texans have expressed concerns regarding a law Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into legislation back in June, allowing most of the state's residents to carry a handgun in public without a permit.

"But I also have been listening to my fellow Texans who are concerned about this idea of permit-less carry that Greg Abbott has signed into law, which allows any Texan to carry a loaded firearm, despite the pleadings of police chiefs and law enforcement from across the state, who said it would make their jobs more dangerous and make it harder for them to protect those that they were sworn to serve in their community," O'Rourke said of the "constitutional carry" legislation.

"So we don't want extremism in our gun laws. We want to protect the Second Amendment. We want to protect the lives of our fellow Texans. And I know that when we come together and stop this divisive extremism that we see from Greg Abbott right now we're going to be able to do that," O'Rourke continued.