Former Navy SEAL turned Congressman Dan Crenshaw wanted to make a point. He shared a story about a woman who used her handgun to fend off an attacker. He pointed out, correctly, that universal background checks would make it so that he’d be unable to loan a friend a firearm so they could do as the woman in the story had done. They wouldn’t be able to defend themselves.

Now, Crenshaw was right. Trying to loan a gun to someone under a universal background check law is illegal. To do so, you have to initiate a transfer via an FFL holder. The problem? Well, there are a lot of them, including that it takes time someone may not have. If they’re heading out of town on a road trip, they may not be able to afford the time to go and deal with the hassle of a background check, especially since it can take days in some cases.

And that’s assuming there’s not an imminent threat to their lives.

Yet with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, there’s only one possible reason Crenshaw couldn’t loan a gun to a friend: They’re all abusers and criminals.

You are a member of Congress. Why are you “lending” guns to people unsupervised who can’t pass a basic background check?

The people you’re giving a gun to have likely abused their spouse or have a violent criminal record, & you may not know it.

Why on earth would you do that? https://t.co/TQFjcLQebO

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 4, 2019

Crenshaw never suggested that someone couldn’t pass a background check. Ocasio-Cortez didn’t ask why Crenshaw’s friends couldn’t have passed a check. She immediately went to the idea that Crenshaw’s friends are all secret abusers and criminals and that a United States Congressman and special operations veteran wouldn’t have even a hint of their depravity.

Someone tell me again how anyone at all takes this woman seriously?

No, seriously. I mean, wanting to give everyone “free” stuff can account for some of it, but not all. I’m genuinely baffled how this woman has a career in politics. Hell, I’m baffled that anyone this stupid had a career in the bar industry, even as a dishwasher.

As I’ve already noted, Crenshaw made no mention of someone being unable to pass a background check. He simply remarked that he’d be unable to legally loan a gun to a friend traveling alone.

Someone with a brain might have asked why, then debated what the law would actually entail and such. It might have made for an interesting exchange between two freshman members of Congress. The problem is, doing so would require Ocasio-Cortez to do more than just react to something a Republican said.

In the process, though, she betrays her own biases and assumptions about guns and gun owners.

For example, she apparently assumes that we’re all cavorting around with criminals and wife-beaters and handing them guns all the time when we know they can’t pass a background check.

She’ll sling around accusations until she’s blue in the face because she knows she’ll never be held accountable. About the only thing Crenshaw could do was reply:

Just so I’m clear: you think my friends are domestic abusers/criminals? Seriously that’s your argument? That they can’t pass a background check?

Wrong. People lend guns to friends, esp if they don’t own a gun, for self-defense and hunting purposes.

This is America outside NYC. https://t.co/wkWPhfi0JB

— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) September 4, 2019

Again, Crenshaw is right.

However, all he can do is tweet back, despite what I happen to feel was a grave insult to not just him but to gun owners in general.

Granted, it’s not like AOC represents gun owners. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s not a single lawfully-owned firearm in her district. What the hell would she know about guns, gun owners, or anything to do with the Second Amendment. That’s still no excuse for acting like we’re all irresponsible idiots who hand guns over to criminals just for kicks.