Anti-Second Amendment news commentator Geraldo Rivera is receiving criticism regarding his “ignorance of basic knowledge of guns during a debate on gun control,” according to The Western Journal. Rivera made his comments during a broadcast of “The Five.”
On Tuesday, Rivera appeared on Fox News’ “The Five,” a roundtable talk show staffed by conservatives. Discussion centered on recent comments made by President Joe Biden regarding the need for more government regulation on personal weapons.
When some argued that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms and that Founding Fathers wrote the amendment to ensure the citizenry of the United States would be able to stand up to a tyrannical government, Biden seemed to indicate that standing up to the government was not possible.
Biden said that to take on the government, “You need some F-15s; you don’t need an AR-15.”
Biden did not mention that on his orders, America recently withdrew from Afghanistan in dishonor in a conflict where soldiers did not have F-15s.
When the discussion on “The Five” turned to AR-15s, Rivera declared, “there is no legitimate reason to have an AR-15.”
Co-host Greg Gutfeld quickly stated Rivera was wrong and then, to note that Geraldo was not educated on the matter, asked if Rivera knew what the “AR” in “AR-15” stands for.
Rivera replied that it stands for “automatic rife.”
Gutfeld shot back that “AR does not stand for “automatic rifle.”
Gutfeld was correct. “AR” does not stand for “automatic rifle” — it is an abbreviation for “ArmaLite Rifle.”
When Rivera learned his comments struck a chord and many Twitter users were commenting on his error and position on gun control, he took to Twitter, discounted his error and repeated his assertion that “AR-15s have no place in American society.”
Rivera wrote:
“Heard the Daily Caller and fellow travelers are ranting about my incorrect definition on-air of “AR” as in AR-15. Whatever. Point is, there is no place (other than sporting clubs and similar skilled settings) for assault rifles. They’re substitute appendages.”
Many Twitter users continued to point out Rivera’s error:
Rivera joins liberal Beto O’Rourke, “Squad” members and others in the Democratic Party in pushing for a ban on one of the most popular rifles in the country. Conservatives note that gun sales have sharply increased since 2021.
An opinion piece in Rhe Western Journal noted:
“This seems to be a common pattern with the left. They talk extensively about subjects like gun control or climate change, claiming to be experts on it. But when asked basic questions about the facts of the issues, they demonstrate total ignorance…
“They also are seemingly unaware that states with gun control measures have been unable to stop crime, showing us that these measures don’t actually work…
“The point is, if you want to speak about an important political issue, you need to be able to demonstrate basic knowledge of the facts in order to be taken seriously.”
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