HBO host Bill Maher and MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell seemed to agree Friday night that it’s ridiculous for Americans to think the Second Amendment can protect them from tyranny.

“Can we get to, first of all, how ridiculous it is for people to think that the Second Amendment protects them from tyranny. Didn’t Waco solve that?” Mr. Maher asked on his show, “Real Time.” “We just had the anniversary a couple of weeks ago. Remember Waco? You know what they had in Waco? They had like 1.9 million rounds of ammunition; they had .50-caliber machine guns; they had grenades. … What did the government have? Everything else. The winner and still champion — the United States government.

“Thinking the Second Amendment protects you from tyranny is like thinking the First Amendment protects you from Thor,” he continued. “It’s quaint. It’s ridiculous. It’s nonsensical. And they never get called [on] it.”

Mr. Lawrence chimed in, saying the United States is long past the point of a necessary rebellion.

“Gun ownership is a minority activity,” he said. “The rate of gun ownership is declining significantly; that’s why the NRA is pushing this so hard. And what you have in terms of gun sales is simply fanatic collectors. People have 48 guns where they used to have four. And that’s how you get gun sales in this country, not by getting new buyers.”

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