Letters to the Editor: This is what makes the AR-15 exclusively a weapon of war

Los Angeles Times Opinion
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AR-15-style rifles are on display at Burbank Ammo & Guns in Burbank, Calif., Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
AR-15-style rifles are on display at a gun store in Burbank in 2022. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

To the editor: Jackie Calmes discusses AR-15-style weapons. She appears not to know enough about these weapons to make a convincing argument that their ownership, possession and sale by civilians should be illegal.

These guns utilize ammunition consisting of a long, relatively large diameter shell that is designed to hold a large amount of explosive powder, but that has a very narrow neck to hold a long, narrow slug. This slug is therefore blasted out at a very high muzzle velocity of 3,300 feet per second.

The AR-15 is designed to cause a very damaging shock wave that creates an extraordinarily large amount of tissue damage. Because of the projectile's extraordinarily high velocity and relatively heavy weight, it severely injures or kills virtually any person in its path. It can also easily penetrate walls, furniture and even humans and still injure or kill someone behind.

These characteristics make the AR-15 far too dangerous and destructive for home or business defense. Because of the extraordinary tissue damage created, an AR-15 is wholly unsuitable for hunting. It is a weapon of war suitable only for warfare at least a mile away from any civilians.

David Rudich, Phoenix

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To the editor: The lesson learned from the 1999 Columbine High School mass shooting was that law enforcement must act quickly and decisively when such a shooting occurs.

The police who responded to the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022 didn't get that memo. In contrast, Nashville police and The Covenant School's faculty and staff acted heroically, saving lives.

And Republicans in Congress? Stop standing around, checking your phones and sanitizing your hands. Quick and decisive legislative action to ban private ownership of assault weapons will save lives.

Leonard Wapner, Seal Beach

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To the editor: Disgustingly, I have seen some GOP representatives shamelessly wearing lapel pins shaped like an AR-15 assault weapon.

I suggest that Democratic representatives wear a button with the face, name and age of a child killed by gun violence. These gun-loving lawmakers need an in-your-face reminder of what those guns do to children.

Joyce Chonis, Westchester

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.