Gun control advocates revile the AR-15 rifle as an “assault weapon” or “weapon of war” that should be banned. Yet the same gun is beloved by firearms enthusiasts so much that it is the most popular style of rifle sold in the U.S.
More than 20 million AR-15-style rifles are legally in the possession of Americans, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a national firearms industry trade association.
Foundation spokesman Mark Oliva said the rifle’s versatility and ease of use explain the high demand for the AR-15 format.
“What drives its popularity is the fact that it is modular. With the simple collapse of that buttstock, that rifle can fit me and my wife. And with minor adjustments to some of the cosmetic features and the attachments, I can very easily adapt that rifle for hunting, for home defense, for recreation [or] competition target shooting,” he said.
AR owners, he said, use the firearm to shoot game, including goats, wild pigs and coyotes.
“It’s a small caliber that has very low recoil. It is easy to manage, and it is ergonomically designed to sort of fit your body that much better. And to be able to handle it accurately [and] safely. I think that’s what makes it such a popular platform for a rifle,” Mr. Oliva said.
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Indeed, there is widespread agreement in gun circles that the AR-15 is an ideal rifle because it has such manageable recoil and is lightweight, accurate and modular.
Dana Loesch, a syndicated radio host and Second Amendment activist, noted that a person can more easily handle the recoil or kickback when shooting .223 Remington or 5.56 NATO rounds from an AR-15.
The rifle also can be affordable.
“They fit a variety of budgets from cheap to pricey, depending on build and manufacturer. Also, the media talks about them nonstop. So for people who aren’t around guns, it’s literally the only rifle they know of,” Mrs. Loesch said.
New AR-15 style firearms range in price from $500 to more than $2,000.
Owners of AR-15-style rifles can choose from an abundance of aftermarket accessories to attach to the firearm’s Picatinny rail. Accessories include lighting systems, flip-up sights and laser-targeting devices.
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“It can be built into a gun for nearly any purpose,” said Stephen Gutowski, editor-in-chief of the firearms newsletter The Reload. “And it’s similar to the rifle employed by the military for the past 60 years, which means many American veterans learned how to shoot on something like it.”
President Biden and House Democrats are again attempting to ban AR-15-style rifles and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, though the legislation is expected to die in the Senate.
Mrs. Loesch said other rifles that look less militaristic and more like the traditional hunting rifle do not get as much grief as the AR-15 platform despite its ability to shoot the same type of ammunition as an AR-15-style rifle.
“They ignore all the other rifles,” she said. “People calling for [a ban] focus on looks.”
However, the AR-15’s military look, affordability, ease of use and accuracy are exactly what critics say makes the rifle so dangerous and why it should be kept out of civilians’ hands.
Rep. Mike Thompson, a California Democrat who wants a ban, said the AR-15 even inspires killing.
“The invisible hand of the market caused that to happen,” he said. “People have been convinced that they need those sexy black guns, and that’s probably the biggest reason. I think the gun lobby, the gun industry really marketed those [guns] to appeal to people’s macho.”
The AR-15 stands for “ArmaLite Rifle.” It is named after the ArmaLite company, which designed the firearm in the 1950s and began sales in 1959 after the design and manufacturing rights were sold to firearms manufacturer Colt, which made further design tweaks.
Colt marketed the gun as a lighter alternative to the U.S. military’s M14 and gave infantrymen the ability to carry three times the amount of ammunition.
In 1963, the military ordered 85,000 AR-15s for the Army and 19,000 for the Air Force. By the summer of 1964, the military stopped manufacturing the M14. The full-auto military version of the AR-15, known as the M16, was born. It became the iconic gun of the Vietnam War.
More than 50 years later, the AR-15, also known as the modern sporting rifle, is sold by a long list of manufacturers worldwide. In 2012, 1 in 5 rifles sold chambered in .223 Remington was an AR-15-type rifle, according to the research firm Southwick Associates Inc.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation takes issue that the AR-15 is somehow exclusive with its military roots and therefore is stamped in a negative light by gun control activists as a “weapon of war.”
“Every major firearm type used by the U.S. military has also been owned and used by civilians,” the foundation says on its website. Long guns previously used by the military include the lever-action Winchesters, bolt-action Springfields and pump-action shotguns from Browning. NSSF said the “assault weapon” or “assault rifle” reference is political terminology since the technical term “assault rifle” includes full-auto military firearms.
The label “assault weapon” or “assault rifle” is commonly applied to a semi-automatic rifle because of its cosmetic features. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives defines a semi-automatic assault weapon as one that uses a detachable magazine and has any two of the following features: a folding or telescoping stock, a vertical pistol grip similar to that of a handgun, a bayonet or knife mount on the barrel, a flash suppressor and a grenade launcher.
Those who want to ban the AR-15 note that epidemiological studies show that during a 10-year ban on the sale of the AR-15 and other similar semi-automatic rifles that began in 1994, there was a decline in the number of deaths from mass shootings and the rate of increase in the number of mass shootings.
Gun rights activists counter that a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that looked at the gun control measures, including the “assault weapons ban,” concluded that a resulting reduction in crime could not be proved.
According to the FBI, almost two-thirds of homicides are committed with handguns. However, the gunmen in some of the deadliest mass shootings in recent history used AR-15-style rifles. That included the recent elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which revived talk of a ban.
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, New York Democrat, said it was beyond his imagination why the AR-15 was so appealing to so many Americans.
“No. 1, those guns are made for war. And, you know, it’s becoming an embarrassment for me internationally. I chair the Foreign Affairs Committee. I just came back from Finland, and they’re looking at me thinking, ‘How do we think that’s acceptable?’”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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