If you’re like me, you have probably noticed that the vast majority of those in the anti-gun crowd know very little about that which they seek to regulate. Most of the anti-gun sentiment coming from the left is predicated on a combination of ignorance and fear.

This reality was on full display when MSNBC media activist Joy Reid took to Twitter to chime in on the mass shooting that was carried out at Oxford High School in Michigan on Tuesday. She also tried to use the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict to call gun laws a form of white supremacy, as my colleague Mike Miller wrote on Friday.

Like her fellow leftists, she exploited the school tragedy to push the typical anti-gun agenda. However, in so doing, she showed a remarkable, but not surprising, level of ignorance about firearms and “gun culture.”

In a thread, she tweeted:

Don’t know who needs to hear this but a firearm is a very serious thing. It’s not a toy. It’s not a pick-me-up you give a troubled kid. It’s not a fun Black Friday treat. It’s a dangerous piece of equipment designed to do one thing and one thing only: to kill living things dead.

Don’t know who needs to hear this but a firearm is a very serious thing. It’s not a toy. It’s not a pick-me-up you give a troubled kid. It’s not a fun Black Friday treat. It’s a dangerous piece of equipment designed to do one thing and one thing only: to kill living things dead.

— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) December 4, 2021

It’s also not a cool Zoom background for a congressional hearing or a thing to flaunt at Starbucks just because you can. This weird fetishization and gamification of guns in this country is making us all less safe. Guns are for some a necessity. They’re never jewelry.

It’s also not a cool Zoom background for a congressional hearing or a thing to flaunt at Starbucks just because you can. This weird fetishization and gamification of guns in this country is making us all less safe. Guns are for some a necessity. They’re never jewelry.

— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) December 4, 2021

This is one of the Sig Sauer models. If it looks like a Glock that’s because it IS like a Glock. It’s similar in style and function. This is not a thing you give to a kid or let a kid get access to, if you know anything at all about kids.

This is one of the Sig Sauer models. If it looks like a Glock that’s because it IS like a Glock. It’s similar in style and function. This is not a thing you give to a kid or let a kid get access to, if you know anything at all about kids. pic.twitter.com/HH075PADQM

— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) December 4, 2021

Let’s start with the last tweet first, because it is probably the silliest thing Reid could have said. Pointing out that what appeared to be a Sig Sauer P320 is similar to a Glock is like saying a Ford F-150 is similar to a Toyota Tacoma. They have differences, but they are both trucks.

The same is true for Sig and Glock – they are not the exact same gun, but they are both pistols. This reality has absolutely no relevance to the conversation about the shooting or guns in general. But people like Reid seem to think making statements like this makes them appear to be knowledgeable about the subject matter.

It is worth pointing out that to Reid’s audience, which is mostly leftists, this might actually make it appear as if she knows what she’s talking about because the majority of those folks know as much about guns as Michael Moore does about dieting. But to those of us that at least have a modicum of knowledge about firearms, she looks foolish.

In her second tweet, Reid appears to be taking aim at Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who was criticized when she participated in a Zoom meeting with a rifle in her background. Reid argues, without evidence, that this supposed “fetishization and gamification of guns” is somehow dangerous. She seems to be trying to use this to convince her audience that gun culture is a threat to innocent Americans, but the argument falls flat when one realizes that those who favor gun rights are not into flashing their weapons around willy-nilly.

Indeed, it is obvious Boebert had her rifle in the background as a political stunt to make a statement. There is no evidence that the lawmaker is a danger to anyone — despite what Reid’s ilk wants us to believe.

Lastly, Reid’s statement that a gun is “not a toy” is indicative of the condescending approach these elitist fools take towards those with differing political views. It is rather hilarious given that the people she is talking down to have forgotten more about guns than Reid could ever hope to know.

The fact is that the vast majority of gun owners already know that firearms are not toys and they do not treat them as such. We don’t run around brandishing our firearms or wearing them like “jewelry,” as Reid pretends. Indeed, a significant number of us carry concealed precisely because we do not want people to know we are armed. This is basic knowledge in gun culture, which is why it is not surprising Reid’s ilk doesn’t know this.

In effect, the media activist is arguing against something that is not common. The parents of the Oxford High School shooter seemed to be the epitome of irresponsibility when it comes to gun ownership. Reid is attempting to use these individuals to paint the entire pro-gun crowd as crazed lunatics who leave loaded guns around for any unsuspecting child to pick up for nefarious purposes.

I think most people have enough common sense not to fall for Reid’s braindead comments. But the hard reality is that her arguments will work on those who are both ignorant and gullible when it comes to firearms. But with support for gun control plummeting, it is obvious that education on firearms is changing a lot of minds, which is why progressives are starting to lose the messaging battle. With people like Reid peddling obvious lies, it won’t be a surprise when the majority of Americans oppose stricter gun control measures even when mass shootings occur.