With gun control being such a hot button issue for the Democratic party right now, one would think they have - at least - a rudimentary understanding of the subject material upon which they base their position.

But when asked to define what an "assault weapon" was at a recent campaign event, almost all of the presidential candidates tried to avoid answering the question, while others, like Joe Biden, struggled to just make any sense whatsoever. The lone exception, according to the Daily Wire, was Joe Sestak, a little known Democratic representative who is polling "at the bottom of the field".

The questions came during a Turning Point USA debate last month at the Iowa State Fair.

Sestak gave the clearest answer, stating that an "assault weapon" is a "semi-automatic" firearm, while adding that he thinks the Bill Clinton-era assault weapons ban did not go "far enough."

Joe Biden gave the bizarre answer: "If you don't know when you see it, you don't understand."

Actually, Joe, perhaps it is you that doesn't understand.

This extremely vague answer came after Biden said earlier this week that we should ban all magazines that hold "multiple bullets" - essentially suggesting that we ban almost all firearms (except for muskets?).

Joe Biden calls for the ban of “magazines that can hold multiple bullets”



Just going out on a limb here; but I don’t think Joe Biden understands what a magazine is pic.twitter.com/i3BAch8dvy — Quoth the Raven (@QTRResearch) September 2, 2019

Marianne Williamson also showed her firm grasp of the subject matter by answering that "all of it, everything that is military" is an assault weapon. Definitions as applied by Williamson, who the Daily Wire notes has also called for a ban of certain types of bullets, would result in nearly all handguns being banned.

Here is how the other candidates responded:

Julian Castro: "The AR-15 definitely qualifies"; refused to answer further.

Amy Klobuchar: " I think you know what it is. It’s the weapon that killed nine people in Dayton in 30 seconds."

Bernie Sanders’ campaign: [Refused to answer (based off what was available on video)].

Cory Booker: "It is defined in our legislation."

Jay Inslee (no longer running): "As defined in the [Clinton-era] 1994 bill."

Tim Ryan: "A lot of different kinds."

Andrew Yang: "There is the military-style."

Bill de Blasio: "I can get you a legal definition."

Other candidates who have not yet been asked include "Beto" O'Rourke, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren.