The social media standoff between Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., over the private exchange of guns has brought the legality of the practice into the gun-control debate, according to The Hill.
"That shock and awe is healthy," Christian Heyne, vice president of policy at Brady, a gun control advocacy group, told The Hill.
But the National Rifle Association noted, per The Hill, that AOC and others are showing a lack of understanding of the Second Amendment in their gun-control activism.
"Anti-gun lawmakers frequently reveal how little they understand firearms and firearm culture when they talk about gun control, and this is a good example of that," a spokeswoman for the NRA told The Hill. "Our focus should be on preventing and penalizing criminal acts – not criminalizing the normal, socially acceptable behavior of law-abiding Americans."
Crenshaw ignited AOC with a tweet earlier this week, posting a story about a woman with a gun protected herself in a potential robbery:
"Situations like this story are why we protect the 2nd Amendment.
"Side note: With universal background checks, I wouldn't be able to let my friends borrow my handgun when they travel alone like this. We would make felons out of people just for defending themselves."
AOC shot back with a tweet, questioning Crenshaw's ethics of lending a gun to a friend.
"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?"
Heyne noted while it might be legal to exchange guns privately, AOC's tweet has brought the question of legality of that practice to the national debate.
"But in terms of a quick, impulsive want to borrow a gun from a friend, is that really keeping someone safe?" Heyne asked, per The Hill.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.