To make a point about the irrelevance of the Second Amendment, Geraldo Rivera brandished what appeared to be a musket while debating with Fox News' own Sean Hannity.
Rivera—a rotating co-host on the conservative network's The Five—called to a person off-camera to be handed the 16th-century-era muzzle-loaded weapon.
Rivera deflected Hannity's hypothetical question of what he would do if a trespasser invaded his home. He displayed the long wood and iron firearm to show how the antiquated Second Amendment didn't include modern weapons used in frequent mass shootings plaguing the nation today.
“This is what weapons looked like," he said of the time when the Founding Fathers ratified the right for US citizens to bear arms in 1791.
Hannity and his Fox News colleague, Pete Hegseth, laughed and derided Rivera for his display.
The video Rivera shared on Twitter was captioned with:
"On last night with friends and colleagues @seanhannity and Major @PeteHegseth debating whether the 2nd Amendment really contemplated modern military assault-type weapons."
\u201cOn last night with friends and colleagues \u2066@seanhannity\u2069 and Major \u2066@PeteHegseth\u2069 debating whether the 2nd Amendment really contemplated modern military assault-type weapons.\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1674658817
Shaking his head over the histrionics, Hannity quipped:
“You’re going to get arrested in New York for having that. I’m just warning you right now.”
Rivera, who admitted to being a gun owner himself, spoke over Hannity's ridiculing of him and continued asking:
“You wanna own this? You can own this."
"You can load it, you can do whatever you want with it.”
“That’s very cute,” replied Hannity.
Twitter users added to the heated discussion over gun control.
\u201c@GeraldoRivera @seanhannity @PeteHegseth Are there a lot of home break ins that I\u2019m unaware of or is the thought the guns deter all these home break ins ?\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1674658817
\u201c@Badger2084 @GeraldoRivera @seanhannity @PeteHegseth That being said should civilians be allowed to have tanks, rocket launchers and a fighter jets? That would be the equivalent, right?\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1674658817
\u201c@GeraldoRivera @seanhannity @PeteHegseth been searching and searching, have not found many stories of burglars with AR15 coming into anyones house well unless you are dealing drugs, where most Americans are not!\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1674658817
\u201c@bob_spainhour @GeraldoRivera @seanhannity @PeteHegseth Not by weapons of war.. what\u2019s next Grenades???\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1674658817
\u201c@GeraldoRivera @seanhannity @PeteHegseth Exactly. People don\u2019t NEED weapons of war. They just WANT them and justify it through a constitutional amendment written in the 1700s. It\u2019s bonkers.\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1674658817
Many stood by Rivera's point.
\u201c@GeraldoRivera @seanhannity @PeteHegseth You are right on Geraldo!\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1674658817
\u201c@GeraldoRivera @seanhannity @PeteHegseth Geraldo is right. Founders did a great job writing the founding documents, but if they had a crystal ball that showed them what happened in Sandy Hook, Stoneman, and Uvalde, chances are they would have written 2Amd differently.\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1674658817
\u201c@GeraldoRivera @seanhannity @PeteHegseth ...Geraldo is absolutely right here\ud83d\udc4d...\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1674658817
\u201c@GeraldoRivera @seanhannity @PeteHegseth Love GERALDO \ud83d\udc97\ud83d\udc97\ud83d\udc97\ud83d\udc97\ud83d\udc97\u201d— Geraldo Rivera (@Geraldo Rivera) 1674658817
When Hannity once again asked what Rivera would do if someone were to break into his home, Rivera said:
"I have nothing against homeowners having a gun. I have a gun."
"Everybody I know my neighbors, I assume, have guns. They're not gun crazy."
The showdown that went nowhere followed Hannity referencing this month's California shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay in which semiautomatic weapons were used to kill nearly 20 civilians.
He made a vague point about how California's gun laws don't necessarily make citizens feel any safer.
The Second Amendment was designed as a protective measure for homeowners to use weapons as a defense against British forces at the time.
Critics argue that it was never intended to protect offensive mass assault weapons like an AR-15–a style of weapon the gunman used in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students and two teachers.
But Hannity missed Rivera's point completely. He maintained if law enforcement and security teams had guns–even though they have the clearance and are trained to carry and use firearms–so should all civilians.
"Gavin Newsome is surrounded by armed guards. The Hollywood elite, they are surrounded by armed guards."
"The people that make this country great have a right to defend themselves and their family and their property."
Hannity suggested those who try to take away any weapon are denying civilians the "security that they, the elite, have."
