Why did conservatives so forcefully point out that Omar Mateen used a Sig Sauer MCX rifle and not an AR-15 as originally reported? For starters, it’s just the right thing to do by naming the murder weapon correctly. Second, we knew the attacks on the AR-15 were going to continue, and that needed to be challenged. The anti-gun Left loves to paint this rifle as an instrument of evil. Despite the fact that it was not used in this likely terrorist attack, anti-gunners were still going to demonize it.
That alone should show that these folks aren’t concerned about safety or the families of the victims, they just want to ban guns, especially this line of rifles that are owned by millions of Americans. Many more will own an AR-15 after this attack. Some might own a couple.
For New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Sheehan, people who buy such weapons are up to no good. She made her view on the rifle know on Mitchell In The Morning with Dan Mitchell on WKBK radio based in Keene (via
The fact is, the AR-15, the gun that (Omar) Mateen used, that’s a weapon of war; it’s advertised as being able do technologically advances in killing people that previous weapons have been unable to do and somebody who is buying that kind of a weapon isn’t buying it for target shooting,” she said. “They’re not buying it to go out and hunt deer. You don’t need an AK-47 or an AR-15 to hunt deer. They’re buying it to do bad things and we need to recognize that and address it.”
Sheehan is just wrong. The AR-15 rifle is most certainly used for hunting (it can be chambered in over 30 calibers); it’s used for competitive shooting, and target practice. It’s also lightweight, has low-recoil, and is incredibly accurate. It’s a beautiful firearm. So, an anti-gun Democrat failed at basic facts again. Oh, and just a reminder for the anti-gun Left—the National Rifle Association is just one pro-Second Amendment group. There are million of gun owners in this country. There are over 300 million firearms in circulation. The NRA is just one part of the massive coalition of pro-gun rights supporters, who have over the past decade, have been winning consistently in the legislatures and the courts. Also, they wouldn’t be as effective if a) Democrats knew what they were talking about; b) liberals stopped blaming mass shooting on all gun owners; and c) actually had so-called common sense polices on gun control. Stripping Americans of their gun rights based on a suspicion of terrorist ties without due process of law is abhorrent.
So, no, Senator, people who buy AR-15s aren’t bad, nor are they planning another American revolution. It’s a great gun—and law-abiding citizens want it. Not to mention, the AR-15 wasn’t even used in the attack, so why are we going after a firearm that wasn’t used in this attack? Oh, I forgot about the whole campaign fundraising part.
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