It is remarkable how little most people who are adamantly opposed to firearms know about them. In general, of course, blissful ignorance of guns is perfectly fine. But if you are a legislator, and you set out to ban something, you do have a duty to know what it is you want to make illegal.

Sheila Jackson Lee is the latest to embarrass herself. She wants to ban America’s most popular rifle, and she knows nothing about it. Not only that, she lies in support of her policy preference:

“I held an AR-15 in my hand, I wish I hadn’t. It is as heavy as 10 boxes that you might be moving. And the bullet that is utilized, a .50 caliber, these kinds of bullets need to be licensed and do not need to be on the street.” – Rep. @JacksonLeeTX18 pic.twitter.com/U71ir6BHZH — Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) September 23, 2019



An AR-15 weighs maybe seven or eight pounds, as Stephen Green points out, so Ms. Lee can’t possibly have held one. And there is no such thing as a .50 caliber AR-15. Most AR-15s are .223 caliber, like mine. Cartridge size comparison at the link, too. The AR-15 is, relatively speaking, a low-powered rifle.

As I said, there is nothing wrong with being ignorant of a subject–unless you are a legislator, and you want to force everyone else to conform to your ignorant views.