D'oh! Anti-gun Democrat makes 'bullet' gaffe

A member of Congress who repeatedly has sponsored legislation to ban so-called "high-capacity" ammunition magazines is being asked to learn how they work before pursuing further action.

The request to U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat who has represented Denver since the 1990s, comes from Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith.

He wants the congresswoman to "get the facts."

The Denver Post said the request came at a forum the newspaper assembled to hear discussion on the issues of gun control.

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And it followed her statement about how a ban on magazines holding more than 15 rounds would help reduce gun violence.

"I will tell you these are ammunition, they're bullets, so the people who have those now they're going to shoot them, so if you ban them in the future, the number of these high capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will have been shot and there won't be any more available," she said.

The Post said DeGette "didn't appear to understand" that a firearm magazine "can be reloaded with more bullets."

Smith said, "Let's be educated as we make this decision."

And spokesman Andrew Arulanandam of the National Rifle Association told the newspaper the member of Congress needed some help.

"Two words – pretty stupid," he told the newspaper, while the state Republican party said it was "extremely alarming" that DeGette was sponsoring a proposed ban "when she doesn't even know what a magazine clip is."

The Post reported the audience chuckled at her answer, and a Twitter feed noted state Sen. Kevin Lundberg, a Republican, told DeGette, "Just so you know, magazines are reloadable."

DeGette's office declined to respond to a WND request for an explanation of her comments.