Things got a bit heated during a Joint Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee hearing in Massachusetts Thursday after a State Representative proved that many Democrats still lack a basic understanding of our Second Amendment.

The hearing, which largely focused on the various gun measures facing the state legislature this session, was attended by more than a 100 Bay Staters.

With such a heavy mix of anti-gunners and Second Amendment advocates, there were sure to be some sparks. However, things didn’t really catch fire until Democratic Rep. Marjorie Decker threw out this gem.

“It is a privilege that we allow individuals to hold onto something that causes harm and death. It is a privilege to have a car license, it is a privilege to have a gun license,” she claimed.

The comment, unsurprisingly, exasperated gun rights activists in the room.

“One of the problems that we face here in Massachusetts is that the Second Amendment is barely recognized in the state as a whole and certainly not as a civil right,” Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League, said according to the Greenfield Recorded.

“I could not have asked for a better witness to that than the previous legislator that actually described our civil rights as a privilege,” Wallace added. “I am aghast that an elected official would actually say that…but that’s not unusual.”

National Rifle Association spokesman John Hohenwarter also chimed in.

“We have some folks in this room who believe it is a privilege and we have some folks in this room who believe it is a constitutional right [to own a firearm],” he said. “I think that’s where the fight lies.”

Until all Democrats recognize that the ability to own a firearm is a constitutionally protected right, we’ll get nowhere.