How the AR-15 Army Rifle Became America’s “National Weapon” and the One Used in the Most Serious Mass Shootings

The annual meeting of the US National Rifle Association (NRA) kicked off this weekend after two mass shootings. And he matched the other one.

The attacks in Nashville and Louisville, Kentucky, which have killed 11 people in the past two weeks, have sparked nationwide protests and demands to ban military rifles.

Added to this another shoot this saturday in the midst of a 16th anniversary celebration in Alabama that killed at least 4 people.

But business is booming in the NRA conference room. There were hundreds of booths dedicated to customizing the very weapon that has become the hallmark of mass shooters: the AR-15.

Affordable, customizable, lightweight and deadly, the rifle has become a lightning rod in America’s raging culture war over guns.
While the courts are debating the Second Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing the right to bear arms and the issue of expanding or limiting the rights to own guns, the emergence of the AR-15 is a flashpoint for both sides.

But the country has reached this point not by chance, according to experts and insiders in the arms industry. This is how millions of Americans are now taking the AR-15.

“I am a weapon enthusiast“

Colion Noir, one of the NRA’s most prominent black commentators, said the first time he fired a gun, he was horrified. But by the second shot, he had fallen in love with the power he felt “holding back the explosion” in his palm.

“I’m a gun lover”, said. I am what I called myself ammunition–sexual [en referencia al amor por la munición]”.

Like millions of Americans, Noir started firing pistols. Over time, he chose a new weapon: the AR-15.

“If you’re thinking about buying a new car, for whatever reason you keep seeing this car everywhere,” he said of his growing love of guns. – That’s pretty much what happened.

Or maybe it’s because the AR-15 and similar rifles are actually everywhere in America.

Some US legislators proudly wear his image on their hearts; others proposed a bill for officially make the rifle the “national weapon” of the United States.

But the rise in popularity of the AR-15 is also inextricably linked to the rise in mass shootings in the United States.

The media dubbed the rifle “The best weapon for mass shooters” and an AR-15 or similar weapon has been used in at least 100 shootings in which four or more victims were injured or killed over the past decade, according to data compiled by the Archive of Gun Violence.

Although studies show that handguns are responsible for the majority of gun deaths in the United States, AR-15 rifles were used in Sandy Hook, Parkland, Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, nightclub Pulse, Uvalde, Nashville’s Covenant School and, this week, Old National Bank in Louisville.

None of this went unnoticed by Noir, who claims to understand why some Americans have become fearful of the rifle.

But the semi-automatic firepower that repels anti-gun protesters is the same firepower that wins loyal fans among AR-15 owners, he says.

“I completely understand why some people may have a certain negative attitude towards the AR-15,” he said. “But the founding fathers used their rifles to defend this country. In that sense, I think it was inevitable that the AR-15 would become the “American rifle”.

Changes in gun culture

Not so long ago, the idea that millions of civilians would own a military rifle was unthinkable even for industry experts.

Ryan Busse was a top manager at a gun company in the early 2000s. At that time, AR-15s and other military-style “tactical” weapons were banned from the back aisles of trade shows and were available only to the law, he said. law enforcement agencies and former military personnel.

“The rest of the industry would not allow such things to be exhibited in the main, tasteful and respectable part of the fair,” he said.

Between 1994 and 2004, federal law prohibited the manufacture, transfer, and possession of military weapons for civilian use.

While U.S. President Joe Biden has cited this legislation, passed while he was a senator, as one of the reasons there have been fewer mass shootings in the U.S. in the past, it did not limit gun ownership entirely.

This did not affect the existing weapons, and some types of semi-automatic rifles were still allowed on the market.

More than a specific law, Busse argued that the industry’s decision to avoid tactical weapons was due to the “social stigma” around them. since the leaders agreed that firearms should be in the hands of trained soldiers and policemen.

“I never had it. For me, the weapon has a very clear purpose. This is a tactical weapon of war, and I did not think about carrying out the planned offensive military operations, ”he said.

But over time, that stigma began to change, and with the War on Terror, a new era began.

“I think that The defining event that defines gun culture today, even if people may not realize it, is actually 9/11.says AJ Somerset, a former Canadian soldier and journalist who has devoted most of his career to documenting the firearms industry.

Back at home, the Americans watched the nightly news, watching soldiers with M-16s rush into battle.

The rifle began to appear in films, TV shows and video games about the war. And the soldiers, returning home, bought the AR-15 to have a civilian model of the rifle that they used in combat.

According to the National Shooting and Sports Foundation, Between 2002 and 2012, U.S. rifle production increased by more than A 160%.

“It’s hard for any American citizen to oppose something that carries a flag,” Busse says.

After over 20 years in the industry, he said he’s had enough. He has since become an advisor to lawmakers and organizations trying to turn the tide on gun violence in the United States.

Although when the industry valued accountability and tried to restrict access to weapons like the AR-15, those principles “collapsed” over time.

“My confidence and my naivete were also broken,” he admitted.

fear marketing

Experts say cultural shift towards AR-15 has been accelerated expiration of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban in 2004 and the approval of a new law granting immunity to manufacturers of firearms in the event of their illegal use.

According to Robert Spitzer, a professor at the State University of New York at Cortland and author of several books on the U.S. gun control debate, legislation to protect the legitimate gun trade was the NRA’s top legislative priority during the Bush administration.

“(The Law) provides legal immunity to arms dealers, arms dealers, arms manufacturers and those who transport arms, protect them from lawsuits based on the damage their weapons cause”, he claimed.

After the law was signed into law in 2005, Busse said he felt palpable relief and impunity in boardrooms and industry meetings.

“It was a shield” he claimed. I jokingly say that it’s like throwing a bunch of cocaine and kegs of beer at a fraternity party and saying, “Behave yourself.”

Gun manufacturers began selling military-grade weapons and equipment, such as bulletproof vests and high-capacity magazines, to the public.

Industrial titans such as Sturm, Ruger & Co have added the AR-15 to their range of pistols and revolvers.

For some, the rifle has become a symbol of masculinity.. In 2012, manufacturer Bushmaster launched an advertising campaign promising customers to “reissue a man’s business card” with every purchase of an AR-15.

Meanwhile, technological advances have expanded the rifle’s capabilities over the military’s M-16, Busse said, making it more lethal.

The United States no longer wages a “war on terror.” However, fear of domestic crime and increased political polarization have led to an increasing focus on self-defense.

“In fact, we don’t think so much about weapons as how we feel about themsays Somerset, a journalist and former soldier.

So, along with the Second Amendment, we got to the point where, despite nearly two-thirds of Americans saying they were “dissatisfied with current gun laws,” legislators had a hard time passing the new law. assault weapons, even after deadly gunfights like in Nashville and Kentucky.

“This strange mixture has been created and no one controls it,” Somerset said.

“It’s kind of frankenstein monster that he was made from all these parts of the American character and that he vacillates wildly.”

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