A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that across all political and social groups in the United States, there is a strong preference against living near AR-15 rifle owners and neighbors who store guns outside of locked safes. This surprising consensus suggests that when it comes to immediate living environments, Americans’ views on gun control may be less divided than the polarized national debate suggests.
The research was conducted against a backdrop of increasing gun violence and polarization on gun policy in the United States. The United States has over 350 million civilian firearms and gun-related incidents, including accidents and mass shootings, have become a leading cause of death in the country. Despite political divides, the new study aimed to explore whether there’s common ground among Americans in their immediate living environments, focusing on neighborhood preferences related to gun ownership and storage.
Fine. I’ll play your game this once, but do you really need it spelled out to you that the AR-15 and other rifles designed to look like military weapons even though they aren’t is what society associates with right-wing assholes who are ready to shoot up those durn libruls and queers?
I despise games, but I despise ignorant bullshit more. I don’t want to play games with you. The AR-15 is a popular choice among rifle owners in the US typically because of the availability of parts and ammo… that’s the main reason. It can accommodate both 5.56 and .223, so again, if you’re actually keeping one around to protect yourself against ______ (fill in the blank) you’ll have a better chance at acquiring ammo.
I’m the polar opposite of a right-wing asshole (the asshole part may still hold), but if more ARs and AR parts are being produced, it’s simply a matter of practicality in the long-term.
Whether you think it’s a fair association or not is irrelevant. That’s what a large segment of the population associates that gun with, including many gun owners.
Fair association? What the fuck are you talking about? I could give a fuck about perceptions, but assuming that everyone that owns an AR is a right-winger is dumb. I don’t think YOU get to speak for a large segment of the population; you simply speak for yourself.
It can accommodate both 5.56 and .223
The difference between 5.56x45mm NATO and .223 Rem is so negligible that it’s almost entirely academic. The vast majority of rifles that can use one can use the other. You can’t buy separate dies for reloading, and they don’t have separate sections in reloading manuals. Yes, 5.56 can produce much higher chamber pressures when fired in a .223 chamber, but in most cases you aren’t going to have problems.
And as far as AR-15s… They’re modular, easy to work on, parts are readily available. That’s what makes it the most popular rifle platform in the US, period. The Mini-14, for example, is the IP of Sturm, Ruger & Co; they’re the only ones that make the rifle. An AR-15 is an AR-15, almost regardless of who makes it (other than BCA or PSA). That’s nearly unique among firearms; there really aren’t any other guns on the market where exactly the same firearm, made to the same set of specs, is made by many different manufacturers. Only Glock makes the Glock 17. Only Sig makes the P320 (so far, despite it being the Army service pistol), and only Beretta makes the model 92/M9; that’s why you see so, so many different choices in pistols, because there’s not any single standard design that’s all made to exactly the same spec. (And, BTW, 1911s are awful in that way, as are all AKs; everything needs to be hand fit.)
I can’t help that you don’t like the general public perception of people who own the gun that you own. It doesn’t change that perception and being rude about it also doesn’t help.
It’s also not about what I personally believe, so please stop suggesting it is.
You need to stop assuming what the general public perceives. You are misapplying your personal perception. Who is the general public, am I excluded from that?
Making incorrect assumptions and speaking on behalf of the “general public” is incredibly rude. Take some of your own advice.
Assuming?
Let’s start with the Republican-sponsored act to make the AR-15 the national gun of the U.S. - https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/1095/cosponsors
Then there are the AR-15 pins Republican politicians wear- https://time.com/6253690/ar-15-pins-congress/
And the AR-15 giveaway fundraisers Republicans hold- https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/10/19/virginia-write-in-race-gun-giveawway/
Here are a whole bunch of Republicans begging the army to keep selling AR-15 ammo on the market- https://thereload.com/republicans-urge-army-to-continue-sale-of-surplus-ar-15-ammo/
Here’s Lindsay Graham saying he has an AR-15 to defend himself from gangs- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lindsey-graham-ar-15-protect-home-gangs/
And we can finish with this article about how the AR-15 has become the symbol of the right- https://www.newsweek.com/how-ar-15-became-symbol-us-right-1792587
So no, I don’t think I’m assuming anything.
