‘You’re a child,’ Texas state lawmaker tells Beto O’Rourke after Dem calls his Twitter message ‘a death threat’

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Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke responded late Thursday to what he claimed was a “death threat” from a Texas state lawmaker.

Briscoe Cain, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, had posted a Twitter message during Thursday’s Democratic debate in Houston, after O’Rourke said he planned to take away high-powered weapons from civilians if elected president.

“Hell yes, we’re gonna take your AR-15,” O’Rourke, a former congressman from El Paso, Texas, said during the debate.

O'ROURKE'S DEBATE-STAGE VOW: 'HELL YES, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE YOUR AR-15'

“My AR is ready for you Robert Francis,” Cain responded, using O’Rourke’s birth name.

Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain. (Facebook/Briscoe Cain)

At that point, O’Rourke made it clear he didn’t interpret Cain’s tweet to be a joke.

“This is a death threat, Representative,” O’Rourke wrote. “Clearly, you shouldn’t own an AR-15—and neither should anyone else.”

Cain replied: “You’re a child Robert Francis.”

The semi-automatic rifles have become a topic of debate nationally after recent mass shootings — but particularly in Texas, where 22 people were fatally shot at a Walmart store in O’Rourke’s home city of El Paso on Aug. 3 and, just a few weeks later, eight people were fatally shot in a shooting spree in the Midland-Odessa area.

O’Rourke, 46, served in Congress from January 2013 until earlier this year. He launched his 2020 presidential bid after generating national name recognition during a high-profile but failed U.S. Senate run against incumbent Ted Cruz, a Republican.

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O’Rourke has argued for a mandatory buyback of assault weapons, among other gun control measures.

Cain, 34, is a Republican from Baytown who represents Texas’ 128th District, covering part of Harris County.

The website VoteSmart.org shows that Cain’s pro-Second Amendment votes this year have included support for allowing handguns at places of worship; allowing the storage and transportation of firearms in school parking areas; and authorizing law enforcement officers to carry weapons on school property.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks during a candidates forum at the 110th NAACP National Convention in Detroit, July 24, 2019. (Associated Press)

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In March, Cain drew attention to a class assignment at a Texas school that he argued was trying to promote a teacher’s anti-Trump agenda.

In February, Cain was among a group of state lawmakers who proposed using state money to help build a U.S.-Mexico border wall amid stalled federal efforts.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this story.