Joe Biden has uttered many an idiotic sentence in his long and winding political career – some are merely incomprehensible, others staggering in their convoluted syntax and grammar. However, he shines the light on his ignorance best when he speaks about guns. This week during a CNN town hall, the president spoke about a 9mm pistol while referring to large-capacity magazines. "The idea you need a weapon that can have the ability to fire 20, 30, 40, 50, 120 shots … whether it's a 9mm pistol or whether it's a rifle, is ridiculous."
Befuddled Again
Having read this statement and having shot a 9mm, it seemed like an opportune moment to do a little fact-checking. Texting a friend, I queried, "Hey, I've shot a 9mm before and don't ever remember one that had a mag of 20, let alone 30, 40, or 50? It was 15 rounds max. Am I crazy?" His answer: "Most 9mm magazines hold between 8 and 15 rounds. I think it is possible to get 20-round mags, but I have no idea why anyone would want one for a pistol."
Another gun enthusiast, who is (full disclosure here) my most frequent range buddy, proffered this: "While it's entirely possible to put almost any size magazine into a clip, it would be an oddity. Basically, it is not something that anyone does because a higher capacity mag would stick out, making the handgun unwieldy." Going down the list of my favorite range men, it seemed the time was right to consult my pal from Arkansas. People from Arkansas tend to know a whole lot about guns. This guy felt the query did not even dignify a straight answer. "What, you don't have the new 120-round double-drum mag for the 9 mm pistol? How about the 40-shot revolver?"
Okay, so my little focus group – made up of a girl, a former Special Ops badass, a licensed NRA instructor, and the gun dude from Arkansas agreed: A 9mm with anything more than 15 rounds was sort of like a bald Medusa.
All this coughed up memories of other Biden gun heresies.
Shotgun Joe
In 2013 Shotgun Joe advised his wife on how to protect herself by firing a shotgun into the air. "I said, 'Jill, if there's ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here, walk out and put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house,'" he said in all seriousness. This comment is, quite frankly, breathtaking to anyone who has ever handled a firearm. No, no actually I take that back. It's mouth-dropping for those who have never touched a gun, too. Let's just say it would not be advisable to stand on your front porch and fire a shotgun skyward unless you want to have a lot of police stopping by for more than just coffee.
Back in 2019, when he was still sort of making sense, Biden said this while stumping for votes in New Hampshire: "We don't have the courage to take on the NRA? We protect geese more than we protect, no joke you can only have 3 shotgun shells when you go shooting for geese, we protect geese more than our kids." Writing for Bearing Arms, Tom Knighton quipped, "Um, Joe? We have laws against killing children at all. We actually allow people to kill geese. We don't allow them to kill children. I'd say kids are getting more protection there. I'm fairly sure the geese agree." As Liberty Nation’s James Fite put it:
“if you still can’t see the not-so-subtle difference here, just call the FBI and inform them that you’re looking to go hunt some human children and ask how many shells you can have loaded in your shotgun. I assure you they will clear up any remaining ambiguity as to whether federal law allows the shooting of another person for sport or food – child or otherwise.”
The Bible, which Mr. Biden claims to follow, offers a few choice words for our commander in chief about prattling on about subjects in which one knows nothing. Proverbs 17:28 (NLT) reads, "Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent." Or he could merely take Mark Twain's words to heart:
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
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