The old saying goes something like this…

It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen ought to have listened to that pearl of wisdom before going on the live radio show Mitchell in the Morning recently.  This is the drivel she spouted off in one short rant.

“The fact is, the AR-15, the gun that (Omar) Mateen used, that’s a weapon of war; it’s advertised as being able do technologically advances in killing people that previous weapons have been unable to do and somebody who is buying that kind of a weapon isn’t buying it for target shooting. They’re not buying it to go out and hunt deer. You don’t need an AK-47 or an AR-15 to hunt deer. They’re buying it to do bad things and we need to recognize that and address it.”

As Onan Coca wrote in the opening of his recent article…

“The stupid is great with this one.”

Indeed.  Truly…where to begin when the stupidity is so rampant?

Well, let’s go with something Senator Shaheen knows nothing about: the facts.

1. The AR-15 is not the gun Omar Mateen used to kill 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
2. It’s not a “weapon of war”.  It’s a semi-automatic sporting rifle that shares some cosmetic similarities to a military rifle, but that is not the same thing.
3. I don’t even know what “able do technologically advances in killing people that previous weapons have been unable to do” means. The AR-15 is simply a semi-automatic rifle that fires 1 bullet each time you squeeze the trigger.  There’s nothing “technologically advanced” about that, despite it’s newness… only being invented about 100 years ago.
4. Over 5 million Americans really do use the AR-15 for target shooting.  Saying otherwise does not make it true.
5. The AK-47 and AR-15 are not the same.  An AK-47 is a fully-automatic firearm designed for the Russian military.   The AR-15 is a semi-automatic firearm designed specifically for the civilian market.

And my personal favourite of her lies…

“They’re buying it (the AR-15) to do bad things...”

Really?

Then over 5 million Americans haven’t figured out what the “bad things” are they ought to be doing.  If the 5 million AR-15 owners in America were doing “bad things” I’m quite certain the entire continent would be very aware of it.

The National Shooting Sports Federation, one of the most reliable sources of facts on American sport shooting, has this to say about the owners of AR-15s in America on their website under the heading of “21 Facts about Modern Sporting Rifle Owners”

• Owners of modern sporting rifles (MSR)–those rifles based on the AR platform–are among the most passionate gun owners.
• Most shoot their rifles often and wish they had time to shoot them even more. Most use them for target shooting. Most own multiple modern sporting rifles. Most enjoy accessorizing them. Given these and other insights into ownership, it’s no wonder MSRs were among the hottest sellers during the firearms sales boom from late 2008 through early 2010.
• Nearly half (44 percent) of MSR owners are current or former military or law enforcement members.
• 51 percent of MSR owners have a shooting-range membership.
• 8 out of every 10 MSR owners purchased their MSR new.
• 39 percent of all MSR owners purchased their most recent MSR at an independent retail store, with the average purchase price being $1,083.
• The typical MSR owner is 35-plus years old, married and has some college education.
• Recreational target shooting (8.9 out of 10) was the No. 1-rated reason for owning a MSR in terms of importance. Home defense was next (7.7/10), followed by collecting (6.28/10) and varmint hunting (6.23/10).

Wow… only 89% of AR-15 owners target shoot. Go figure.

So, Senator  Shaheen, would you care to revise your asinine statements to reflect the truth about AR-15s or will you stick with your lies and anti-gun propaganda?

(Like I even have to ask)