Sen. Bill Cassidy claims people need AR-15s to defend themselves from 'feral pigs,' inadvertently echoing an old meme about 'feral hogs'

• Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy said people need AR-15 rifles to kill “feral pigs.” 
• Cassidy made the comment to a Vice reporter who asked why people would ever need assault weapons.
• He said people who kill “feral pigs” in “the middle of Louisiana” would object to a ban on them.

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy this week said that he thought people still needed assault weapons to kill “feral pigs,” inadvertently echoing an old meme about gun control.

In an interview published on Thursday, Vice News asked Cassidy whether he believed there was any room to ban assault weapons in the country.

The lawmaker was also asked why someone would ever need an AR-15 — the weapon used by the gunman in Tuesday’s mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

“If you talk to the people that own it, killing feral pigs in the, whatever, the middle of Louisiana. They’ll wonder: ‘Why would you take it away from me?'” Cassidy told Vice.

“I’m law abiding, I’ve never done anything, I use it to kill feral pigs. The action of a criminal deprives me of my right,” the senator added.

Cassidy’s remarks inadvertently referenced a meme from 2019 involving a hypothetical argument on Twitter made in support of keeping assault weapons legal.

The meme was sparked by a Twitter user who wrote in a post: “Legit question for rural Americans – How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?”

—Willie McNabb 🐗 (@WillieMcNabb) August 4, 2019

The tweet was widely mocked by Twitter users, who questioned the plausibility of 30 to 50 hogs rushing into a person’s yard or made jokes about hogs in general.

—Robby Kalland (@RKalland) August 5, 2019

—Beth McColl (@imteddybless) August 5, 2019

While feral hogs are a problem in parts of rural America, it is unclear if hunting the hogs is a solution to the issue or if AR-15s are needed to hunt the animals.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has called for renewed restrictions on assault weapons following the Texas school massacre, which has left at least 21 people — including 19 children — dead. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has also signaled that he might be willing to work with Democratic lawmakers on gun safety legislation.

Read the original article on Business Insider