You know what gives Congress its confidence ratings from American voters? The expertise among legislators on subjects for which they intend to dictate choices to the electorate. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee offered her expert review of the AR-15, which apparently takes five men to lift and shoots cannonballs from its muzzle.

How did this get to be so popular if no one can shoot it? Hmmm (via Twitchy):

“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

Maybe she just meant empty boxes, but that doesn’t make much sense in context. The Colt AR-15 weighs less than ten pounds, and in fact was designed to provide a lightweight alternative to other semi-automatic rifles. Having handled it once myself on the range, I can attest to the ease in which it can be handled, perhaps even surprisingly so given its relative power and size. That, of course, is its purpose, and why so many law-abiding owners attest to its use as a self-defense weapon of choice.

As for the ammunition used by the AR-15, it doesn’t come close to .50 caliber bullets. It uses either .223 Remington or 5.56 mm NATO rounds, both of which are less than half the diameter of a .50 caliber round. (The graphics here from PewPew Tactical that includes both rounds show just how ridiculous this claim is.) Very few gun owners would choose a .50 caliber, 660-grain round as a realistic self-defense choice, even if they bothered to shop for one of the few models of weapons available to shoot it. It’s a difficult round for anyone not expert in firing those weapons.

It’s this kind of ignorance, professed proudly in front of any cameras on hand, that contributes to the disconnect between the governing class and the 60 million American firearms owners who know better. It’s pretty darned tough to argue that Congress can be trusted to craft restrictions on gun ownership when they can’t even get this much right even after holding the weapon. Or claiming to do so, anyway.

If the AR-15 bore any resemblance to Jackson Lee’s description, it would have never become a popular choice for gun owners. Instead, it’s so popular that Colt announced that production of civilian models will be suspended because the market has become saturated:

In a statement on its website, Colt emphasized that the company remained “committed to the Second Amendment,” but cited market conditions for its decision.

“Over the last few years, the market for modern sporting rifles has experienced significant excess manufacturing capacity,” Dennis Veilleux, the company’s chief executive, said in the statement. “Given this level of manufacturing capacity, we believe there is adequate supply for modern sporting rifles for the foreseeable future.”

At least Jackson Lee provided us with some level of education in this clip. When it comes to firearms, most Democrats have no education at all, nor much interest in acquiring any. We should therefore take their demands on gun owners with a grain of salt the size of Lot’s wife.

Update: I wrote that this took place “earlier today” in the original post, but it apparently took place over the weekend. I took out that phrase to reflect that. My apologies for any confusion on that point.

Update: PJ Media got this first, so be sure to read their analysis of it too.