“Assault Weapons” Deserving of Prohibition?

(TacticalNews.com) – Deemed a “weapon of war” by Democrats and many left-wing gun control advocates, the AR-15 rifle has been under attack for the last 40 years. Is the AR-15 more dangerous than other guns on the market?

The NRA-ILA: The Truth about “Assault Weapons” https://t.co/MpMthjOrhZ pic.twitter.com/EIChCLtLlQ

— AmmoLand News (@AmmoLand) September 28, 2020

The answer to that question can be found in a recent Tennessee Law Review article by E. Gregory Wallace discussing his conclusions after analyzing the potential lethality of the AR-15.

Wallace, a law professor by trade, took on at many of the claims made by anti-gun activists, crumbling any presumptions about the AR-15 and other semi-automatic rifles being deadlier than other firearms in the process.

According to Wallace, the strong resemblance between the civilian AR-15 and military-grade M4 and M16 likely led to concerns the weapons were equal. However, this simply isn’t true.

Additionally, the military uses several civilian weapons, such as the Mossberg 500, Remington 700, Remington 870, Glock 17, Sig P320, and the long-tested 1911. Should all of these be banned as well? If visual similarity or cartridge size became the basis for weapons bans, we would likely see the end of private ownership of all firearms.

Another claim attached to AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles is their ability to fire between 300 and 500 rounds per minute. A semi-automatic rifle can only fire one shot at a time after each successive trigger pull. The firearm can only fire as fast as the shooter can pull the trigger. For a rifle to shoot between 300 and 500 rounds per minute, that would mean a shooter would have to be able to pull the trigger 5 to 8 times per second (not including the time it takes to reload).

Understanding where the false claims against the AR-15 originate helps determine their validity. A shining example is the claim that the “AR” in AR-15 stands for “assault rifle,” when in reality, it stands for ArmaLite, the original manufacturer of the weapon.

As Americans, we have the right to keep and bear arms enshrined in our Second Amendment, and short of a new amendment, nothing is going to take away that right. Therefore, those concerned about gun-related incidents should look to common-sense solutions to the problem.

For example, one of the best methods of reducing gun-related violence incidents is educating the population regarding gun safety. For information on who the Girl Scouts have embraced this concept, click here.