25/02/2018 Should It Be Illegal For You To Own An AR-15?

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February 24, 2018

Should It Be Illegal For You To Own An AR-15?

An in-depth look at the AR-15, the controversies surrounding it, and why gun control
advocates want it, and similar weapons, banned for sale to the general public.

US POLITICS IKEATORE / SHUTTERSTOCK

Even to those unfamiliar with firearms, the AR-15 rifle

looks like it means serious business. One look at this
weapon and its imposing visual aspect tells you that this is
not your typical rifle — or is it? Is it possible that beneath
TJ Larson
its intimidating, high-tech exterior, the AR-15 is no
different from any of the thousands of other rifles that
make up the more than 300 million firearms in America?

In order to answer this question, let us take a closer look

at the controversial and much-maligned AR-15.

The AR-15 belongs to a class of semiautomatic firearms,

chambered for a high-powered rifle cartridge, and can be
fed its ammunition from a high-capacity magazine. The
AR-15 is the civilian version of the M-16 rifle used by U.S.
military forces. Although the AR-15 and similar weapons

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25/02/2018 Should It Be Illegal For You To Own An AR-15?

are officially referred to as “sporting rifles” by the gun

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industry, they are often colloquially called assault rifles.

Both rifles share many similarities, even down to the

caliber of ammunition they fire. The military M-16 and its
shorter cousin, the M-4 carbine, are chambered for the
5.56mm NATO cartridge. The AR-15 and CAR-15 analogs
typically accept the readily-available over-the-counter.223
caliber.

In fact, the ammunition is so similar that some shooters

use it interchangeably. However, the main difference
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between the two rifles is the military version has NNING IN GROU
automatic firing capability and the civilian version does
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In spite of the obvious resemblance to a military weapon

of war, the biggest controversy over the AR-15 is its ability
to fire hundreds of rounds per minute when used with
high-capacity magazines. Some of these magazines can
hold up to 100 rounds, allowing a shooter access to a huge
amount of firepower.

There is also concern about the bullets themselves, which

combine a lightweight round with a high-powered
projectile charge. The 5.56mm NATO/.223 is designed for
maximum damage to tissue and organs. Traveling at more
than 3,000 feet per second, the lightweight, high-velocity
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bullet can fragment after entry into a victim. These
fragments can then literally shred internal organs and
cause massive trauma to bone and other soft tissue.

Although there is debate over its effectiveness as a hunting

round, the civilian.223 is marketed as a so-called
“varmint” round and for home protection. The properties
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of the round make it mostly unsuitable for large animals
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because extreme accuracy is required to guarantee a one-
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unsuitable for big game make the round perfect for CRIME

incapacitating people. ‘Jerry Springer Show’ Bodyguard Steve

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This is one of the reasons why the 5.56mm NATO/.223
has been the choice of the U.S. military for several TECHNOLOGY

decades. Its light weight allows soldiers to carry more

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25/02/2018 Should It Be Illegal For You To Own An AR-15?

massive internal injuries have made it one of the most Victims, So Advertisers Take Action

lethal and feared rounds in modern warfare. ODD

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There is also a consensus, at least among medical
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professionals, about the AR-15’s incapacitation Bizarre Condition
capabilities. Doctors who have treated victims of the AR-
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15 and its high-velocity bullets all have a very similar
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depiction of the carnage it inflicts on a human body.
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Doctors who treated victims after the Sandy Hook school RUMORS

shooting and other mass shooting incidents described the Kate Middleton And Prince William Are
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these weapons.

Peter Rhee, a trauma surgeon at the University of Arizona,

told Vox that a wound from a typical 9mm handgun looks
like a “bad knife cut,” whereas a wound from an AR-15
rifle looks like a “grenade went off” inside of it.

Donald Jenkins, a trauma surgeon at University of Texas

Health Science Center at San Antonio, graphically
described what happens when an AR-15 round strikes
bone or an internal organ, like the liver.

“
“It [the bullet] would just turn it [bone] to dust, [and] if it hits the
liver, the liver looks like a jello mold that’s been dropped on the
floor. And the exit wound can be a nasty, jagged hole the size of an
orange.”

Conversely, despite the horrific descriptions of the damage

done by these weapons, gun advocates correctly argue that
it is not the weapon’s fault alone, but those who end up
using them on others. Most gun advocates agree to
tougher background checks and steps to prevent the
mentally unstable from possessing firearms, but gun
opponents say that this is simply not enough.

Opponents of these measures say they will do little or no

good because most of those who were responsible for
America’s largest mass shootings did not have criminal
records or had been determined to be mentally unstable.

Gun opponents also point out that the mass shootings

with the highest number of casualties were those where
the gunmen used AR-15-type rifles.

Stephen Paddock, James Holmes, Adam Lanza, Devin

Patrick Kelley, and Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz,
all allegedly used this type of weapon.

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25/02/2018 Should It Be Illegal For You To Own An AR-15?

Between these five gunmen, more than 500 people were

killed or wounded. All passed background checks and
none had been judged mentally incompetent by a court.

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