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(CNN) -- One of the three guns Adam Lanza used to kill 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, was a ...
Why would someone own a military-style rifle?
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CNN iReport
updated 10:43 AM EST, Fri December 21, 2012
A 1994 federal ban on certain
types and configurations of guns included 19 kinds of military-style
rifles and handguns. That ban expired in 2004. But the shooting deaths
of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut school has sparked new
calls to ban such weapons. Click through this gallery to learn why
military-style guns are important to many gun owners.
HIDE CAPTION
Voices of military-style gun owners
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- A military-style rifle was used in the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting
- "Can't we leave those guns to the trained military?" asks a CNN commenter
- Many gun owners collect them, using them for hunting, target shooting and protection
- "A lot of people buy the AR-15 because, well, it's cool," says a former owner
"Personally I don't know how any ordinary citizen can justify owning an automatic or semiautomatic gun," writes CNN commenter Mark Smerkanich. "Can't we leave those guns to the trained military?"
Self-described gun owner Julie Jones-Hawkins comments, "I ... fully support a ban on rapid-fire weapons. Any weapon that can take out an entire kindergarten class is a problem."
Here are five reasons many gun owners say they want military style rifles:
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"Every month or so I take my guns out to the range and shoot. It's thrilling, exciting and a great way to vent," says Christopher L. Kirkman, a Florida-based military-style gun owner.
Kirman was one of more than 100 gun enthusiasts who shared opinions on CNN iReport about owning firearms that would have been banned under the now-expired 1994 federal weapons ban.
"Sure, I could try to say
that the reason I own these guns is self-defense, but the truth of the
matter is that, although they will technically serve this purpose, they
are not why I own them," he says.
Michigan gun owner Ethan Daniels describes
his enthusiasm for his rifle more succinctly, saying, "I like to shoot,
and that is one heck of a fun carbine to plink with."
Background can factor
into a gun owner's choice of weapon. "The AR-15 is what I am used to
from my extensive training as an airborne infantryman," writes Nathan Lee. "Because of my training, it's what I feel the most comfortable with."
Another reason for these guns is hunting. The AR-15 is a "good hunting platform. I've hunted coyote with it," says CNN iReporter MVR155, who owns two of the weapons. He asked to remain anonymous.
Owners of military-style
rifles also use them to hunt deer and other game. But some states have
banned the AR-15 and its .223 caliber for deer hunting.
'It's cool'
It may not be the best
or most important reason, but military-style weapons often appeal to the
enthusiast side of the American gun owner. Just like many car lovers
who dream of owning a Lamborghini, many gun owners get excited about the
idea of owning an AR-15.
"There are people who buy certain types of firearms because they have a certain image -- the AR-15 is one of them," says Austin Nikel, a former AR-15 owner in Boulder, Colorado.
Hollywood has glorified the image behind those certain types of weapons.
Austin Nikel, gun owner
Austin Nikel, gun owner
"One thing about this
country is how Hollywood has glorified the image behind those certain
types of weapons. A lot of guys grow up with GI Joe, and that image is
extremely attractive. It grabs you and affects you.
"A lot of people buy the AR-15 because, well, it's cool."
Apparently it wasn't cool enough for Nikel to hold on to. He ended up selling his AR-15 to his father.
'A part of history'
"Since coming of age --
and in the decades since -- I have collected many different firearms,
some of them historical pieces, some for sport, some of them even the
so-called 'assault weapons' that are now a controversy," says iReporter Hrothgar01.
"Guns like these are as
much a part of the history of this country as the muskets carried by
pioneers, the rifles toted by doughboys in the trenches, and the other
arms that have served and protected throughout the years. To hold one in
your hands, appreciate its history and design, and to be able to take
that piece of history to the range and work -- it is a feeling that many
people in this debate do not understand or appreciate."
'Protecting my family'
"I believe the foremost person responsible for protecting my family and myself is me," writes iReporter ShortyDoowap,
who owns a pair of AR-15s. "These rifles provide me with the tools to
perform that duty. I don't own these guns to target shoot, though I do
that with them. I don't hunt with them, though I could in a pinch."
Parks says he "would not hesitate to use one to simply defend my home and family from a single intruder if it became necessary."
In some home-protection
situations, fans say military-style rifles are generally more accurate
than handguns. Rifles are generally easier to learn how to shoot, say
military-style rifle owners.
Like most firearms,
military-style weapons such as the AR-15 are semiautomatic -- increasing
protection because the shooter can fire off many shots without having
to manually chamber a new bullet. With a bolt-action rifle or
pump-action shotgun, firing multiple shots takes more time.
"When you weigh it all
out, these types of guns are stigmatized," says iReporter MVR155.
Military-style weapons look more dangerous than other guns, he says, but
really, there are many weapons available which are just as lethal, but
which are not designed in a military style.
'Fascination with the Second Amendment'
"I am a proud owner of an AK-47," writes iReporter INGunOwner.
"It's a terrific gun. Lots of fun to shoot. I own an AK because of my
fascination with the Second Amendment, which I view as a backstop
protector of freedom. Many people would argue that we have no use for it
today because the government is trustworthy.
"However since it acts
as a deterrent, we can never measure exactly how much it has been
effective. Perhaps the notion that people feel safe with our government
after over 200 years is a testament to the Second Amendment value in
balancing power with the citizens."
CNN's Henry Hanks contributed to this report.
end quote from:
My personal answer to this question would be that: "Mostly people in big eastern cities would be the most likely to ask this question." In the large eastern cities where many people never leave there or even own cars or trucks I can understand why people would think this way. However, the further west you move or live the wilder it is. So, you come to states like Texas, Nevada, parts of California, ORegon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming etc. etc. etc. If you live in any of these states unless you also live in a really big city and don't go out into the wilds you might not understand why people want to own assault rifles.
I don't feel I need to own one because I am an intuitive and tend to know when problems arise and I don't like to kill things even insects because I took Ahimsa Vows in the 1980s. However, everyone in my family on my Dad's side going back at the very least 500 to 600 years has owned some type of hunting rifle comparable to an assault rifle. However, if our country was attacked from without or within one of the first things I would do would be to buy an AR-15 or a Kalashnikov Assault rifle to protect my country, my family etc. My Grandfather owned a World War I M-1 30 odd 6 to hunt Elk, Deer, Moose, and Bear in the 1920s in Washington and Canada and other western states. My father had a .22 rifle that was given to him by age 6 and his youngest brother and he and his older brother often went hunting alone in the 1920s with their 4 year old brother with a .22 pistol my father with a .22 rifle and his brother 9 with a small shotgun for hunting quail. This was very normal for the times in the 1920s. And by age 4 years of age in my historical family children were taught to be responsible like men in order to be safe with weapons. If they misused them they knew people would hurt them so they used them correctly. This is just the way it has been for over 500 to 600 years in my father's family line since Switzerland and Germany in the 1500s. (My father's family has been in the U.S. since 1725). And before rifles it was completely normal to be experienced with a bow and arrow, swords, spears, cannons etc. I was even given my Dad's .22 Remington Pump 17 shot rifle at age 8 and I kept it in my closet in my own room then and was expected to clean it and protect it and to use it for target practice and shooting birds and rabbits and other critters in the 1950s. And I learned by 8 1/2 or 9 to be an excellent shot even at far distances on stationary or moving targets. This was normal for the 1950s just before the Viet Nam War almost anywhere in the Western States like California.
So, though people in big cities without cars or trucks might think no one should own a large caliber rifle, it is much different from the Appalachian mountains to the west for most people.
However, almost all Americans agree that no one needs a fully automatic weapon. An Automatic Weapon (in regard to assault rifles) is if you hold down the trigger it just keeps firing at a high rate of speed until the clip is spent. A Semi-automatic weapon only fires once every time you pull the trigger.
And even people who don't think that people should have assault weapons mostly still believe people should have the right to pistols and concealed weapons most places in the U.S. even today.
My personal opinion is that as long as people are allowed to own personal assault semi-automatic weapons we will always be a democracy. Just remember 6 million Jews died when Hitler confiscated everyone's weapons and drove the Jews into Gas Chambers and killed or starved 6 million of them. If this can happen in Germany it can happen anywhere under weird circumstances. Weird circumstances aren't everyday occurances. But we need assault weapons for those times which will one day come when we have to defend our country house to house from tyrants once again.
If you think Any Government in the past, present or future can be trusted 100% then you might also believe in the tooth fairy too!
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