The Most Political Gun in America
If there’s one weapon that symbolizes the intractability of the gun debate in the U.S., it’s the AR-15.
.. For gun advocates, the AR-15 has become an emblem of patriotism and even virility. “Consider your man card reissued,” reads an advertisement by Bushmaster, picturing their latest iteration of the iconic rifle. When Senator Ted Cruz wrapped the barrel of a gun in raw bacon, fired it until the hot muzzle made the meat sizzle, and ate some, he used an AR-15. In his losing 2014 bid for reelection, U.S. Representative Paul Braun called the gun a “symbol of liberty” and offered one as a campaign giveaway; last year, after a gun-rights activist challenged Lindsey Graham’s commitment to the second amendment, the senator responded, “Come to my house. I will show you my AR-15.”
.. For gun advocates, the AR-15 has become an emblem of patriotism and even virility. “Consider your man card reissued,” reads an advertisement by Bushmaster, picturing their latest iteration of the iconic rifle. When Senator Ted Cruz wrapped the barrel of a gun in raw bacon, fired it until the hot muzzle made the meat sizzle, and ate some, he used an AR-15. In his losing 2014 bid for reelection, U.S. Representative Paul Braun called the gun a “symbol of liberty” and offered one as a campaign giveaway; last year, after a gun-rights activist challenged Lindsey Graham’s commitment to the second amendment, the senator responded, “Come to my house. I will show you my AR-15.”
.. With lower recoil and less expensive ammunition than larger hunting rifles, the AR has become popular with recreational target shooters.
.. the most severe mass shootings in recent years have involved magazines of 17-, 19-, 20- or 30-round capacities (or greater). If those seem large for civilian needs, the evidence would seem to agree: In my research, I have been unable to find a single documented incident in which a civilian (non law-enforcement) in the United States has fired more than 15 rounds in legitimate self-defense.
.. Contrary to the NRA assertion that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” there are several examples in which unarmed bystanders have been able to stop a shooting when the perpetrator paused to exchange magazines. This was the case in the Long Island Railroad shooting of 1993, the Thurston High School shooting of 1998 and the Tucson shooting of 2011. In 2010, law enforcement officers in Austin tackled a gunman (rather than shoot him) because they saw an opportunity to do so while he was reloading his empty weapon.
.. Just as the Colorado Springs attack last year on a Planned Parenthood clinic (also perpetrated with an AR-15) highlighted the connection between gun violence and women’s rights, and the Charleston church shooting highlighted the connection between gun violence and civil rights, the Orlando shooting at a gay nightclub might help to define gun violence as an intersectional issue—about a particular gun, yes, but also about much more.