WATCH: ‘Common Sense Gun Control’ Debunked

Political commentator and comedian Steven Crowder wanted to see how much those calling for “common sense gun control” actually know about firearms. To do so, he set up a tent for the “Citizens Coalition for Common Sense Gun Reform” and asked his fellow concerned citizens about what types of guns the government should ban and why. What he learned: almost no one knows anything about guns and all of their reasons behind which guns should be banned and which should be allowed are based off of how guns make them feel, not what they are actually capable of.

Crowder told the Daily Wire that the project required him “hiring the local police for security” and “getting permission from the mayor.” Once he had finally gotten through the red tape, Crowder and his fellow CCCSGR representative set up a tent and laid out over a dozen real guns so they could find out what the Common Sensers knew about the weapons they want the government to confiscate.

Crowder attempted to find out what people actually meant by some of the key buzzwords used by gun control advocates. The most important buzzword of course was “common sense,” which Crowder found was almost a magic word for many of the visitors. Just say “common sense” and those visiting the tent were in because, of course, who isn’t for common sense?

The only problem: that “common sense” included complete misunderstandings of what “semi-automatic” and “assault weapon” mean, completely distorted perspectives on what types of weapons have been used in crimes, and an alarming willingness to allow the government to violate the Second Amendment and prevent citizens from defending themselves.

Crowder asks Common Sensers to decide on a “sliding scale” which of the guns he is displaying should be banned and which should be allowed. The “experts” it turns out are utterly superficial in what weapons they believe the government should confiscate: If it was metallic and wood, people were fine with it. If it was black and “tactical looking,” they wanted the government to ban it.

Crowder repeatedly used the made-up term “fully semi-automatic weapon” to see if any of the gun control advocates would push back. Only one called him on it; the rest seemed to accept it as a legitimate concept—and, of course, a legitimate reason to ban a gun.

One particular target of anti-gun activists is the AR-15 (which Crowder notes does NOT stand for “assault rifle”). The visitors generally agreed with Crowder that that rifle was “the worst.” Several people agree that AR-15s should be banned because “no one hunts with those.” The rifle, Crowder points out, is in fact a very popular small game hunting weapon. Another reason some believe it should be banned: it “looks” sinister (because it’s black and looks like guns from war movies).

When Crowder makes the absurd claim that the AR-15 is used in upwards of “99.4% of mass shootings,” most of the participants accept that statistic as true. In fact, only 3% of all criminal uses of guns actually involve rifles of any kind. Crowder also highlights that there was no correlation between the Bill Clinton’s assault rifle ban and declines in gun violence.

When Crowder switches the display for handguns, the ignorance about guns becomes even more evident. While visitors agree that “No one’s committing mass shootings with [handguns],” Crowder notes that from 2007 to 2015, nearly 70% of all shooting murders were committed with handguns.

In the end, the most eye-opening aspect of the video is the willingness of the Common Sensers to give up the right to defend themselves, allowing the Constitution to be eclipsed by emotional response as they argue for imposing what are generally superficial and arbitrary distinctions about what should or shouldn’t be allowed by the government on their fellow citizens.