On Sunday, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell got a lesson on guns from a CNN host.

How is this possible? It came from the frequently-surprising (and impressive) Jake Tapper (here and here).

Eric — who serves California — is all about gun control.

Jake schooled Eric on his favorite cause, with a fact most Americans already know: Semiautomatic rifles aren’t a major cause of gun deaths.

JAKE: So, gun control is the central plank in your campaign. You wrote last year: “We should ban possession of military-style semiautomatic assault weapons. We should buy back such weapons from all who choose to abide by the law. And we should criminally prosecute any who choose to defy it by keeping their weapons.”

Or how about we just prosecute those who choose to defy the law against murder? That way, we’re punishing the actual culprit, and we’re allowing innocent people to defend themselves. More people who can defend themselves = fewer people who’ll try the murder thing.

JAKE: Criminal prosecution for keeping assault weapons — what’s the punishment for people who don’t hand in their guns? Do they go to jail?

ERIC : Well, Jake, they would. But I also offer an alternative, which would be to keep them at a hunting club or a shooting range.
And the reason I have proposed this is because these weapons are so devastating. I have seen this as a prosecutor in the cases that I have prosecuted. We have seen these in the school shootings, from Sandy Hook to Parkland…

But it’s not just the violence that they have caused. It’s the fear — the immeasurable fear — that our children live in, because they are still on our streets. I want to get rid of that fear. I want to do what Australia did and New Zealand just recently did. I think this issue just needs some bold leadership to do it.

He’s right — taking innocent people’s firearms would indeed be bold.

Then came the lesson:

JAKE: I know you know this, but the vast majority of gun-related deaths in this country are not related to these semiautomatic assault weapons — whatever you want to call them — and the vast majority of gun owners are law-abiding citizens who have purchased these weapons legally and use them safely.

One of the most frequent attacks on this issue from President Trump and the Republicans is that Democrats want to take away your guns. But isn’t it fair to say you actually do want to take away people’s guns?

YES!!!!

ERIC: You know, keep your pistols, keep your long rifles, keep your shotguns. I want the most dangerous weapons, these weapons of war, out of the hands of the most dangerous people.

Aaand…DUMB.

It’s wrong to call certain semiautomatic rifles “weapons of war.” Our military carries handguns; are those the tools of war as well? How about sharp objects?

Of course, if we allow the government to banish guns which cause relatively few deaths — under the guise of them causing so many deaths — we won’t have a leg to stand on when they say, “Hey, wait — actually, these other guns cause even more fatalities. So cough ’em up, dummies.”

Most likely to kill people: Not semiautomatic rifles.

Not likely to turn in their guns: Murderers.

Murderers: Likely to vote for Eric Swalwell.

-Alex

Relevant RedState links in this article: here and here.

See 3 more pieces from me: James Cromwell goes Full Goober, dad with a gun saves the day, and ministers bless an abortion clinic.

Find all my RedState work here.

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate @RepSwalwell vows to focus on gun control: “It’s not just the violence that they’ve caused, it’s the fear, the immeasurable fear that our children live in because they’re still on our streets. I want to get rid of that fear.” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/mZfJVHh4Dq

— CNN (@CNN) April 14, 2019

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