President Joe Biden has admonished Second Amendment supporters on Tuesday night, telling them that they would "need an F-16" if they want to challenge the American government.
The controversial statement was made during a fundraising event in a private residence in California, where Biden was emphasizing gun violence in America and shared his opinion that Americans don't need AR-15s.
Biden's contention is that even in the days when the Second Amendment was written, you weren't allowed to own cannons or machine guns.
"If [you] want to work against the government, you need an F-16. You need something else than just an AR-15," Biden said.
The President went on to argue that the lucrative nature of AR-15s is a leading factor in the weapon's popularity among gun makers, as it is "the cheapest weapon to make and it's the highest profit motive they have for any weapon that is made."
This is not the first time Biden has taken a jab at Second Amendment supporters, as he famously informed those gathered at the National Action Network's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast in Washington earlier this year that anybody wanting to challenge the federal government would need a much bigger arsenal than an AR-15.
However, some say Biden's rhetoric is not rooted in fact.
While the Second Amendment does not limit who can "keep and bear arms" or what kind of arms they can keep and bear, the American Constitution does transact to give Congress the power to grant "Letters of Marque and Reprisal," which allow civilians to attack and detain vessels of countries at war with the U.S.
But even this pre-dates the Second Amendment and was intended merely as a means for the U.S. to defend itself.
In June 2022, the Democrat-controlled House and Senate passed the most significant gun control bill in nearly 30 years, which Biden then quickly signed.
The controversial legislation calls for greater background checks, the banning of high-capacity magazines, and restrictions on certain gun parts.
The contentious bill has sparked debate among gun owners who fear that such restrictions are a step toward gun confiscation.
Biden's comments on Tuesday night have done nothing to allay those fears, as gun owners continue to worry about where the Second Amendment stands in the current administration's agenda.