By: Marc King
What You Should Know About The “Scary Black Gun”
On March 22, 2021, another mass shooting took place in Boulder, Colorado. Nine shoppers in a supermarket and one Police Officer were shot and killed. We condemn all such events.
We have more to learn about the shooter and his motives; but the Socialist Left and Joey Biden did not waste any time in focusing in on the gun that was used by the shooter — an AR-15, commonly called an “Assault Weapon” … The Scary Black Gun.
But here are the real facts…
“A common misconception about the AR-15 is that “AR” stands for “assault rifle,” a phrase that stems from the German “Sturmgewehr” (“Storm” or “assault” rifle) used in World War II propaganda posters and later applied to military-style weapons. This shouldn’t be confused with the term “Assault Weapon,” a legal term for a specific class of illegal firearm during the years 1994 to 2004. Ironically enough, the AR-15 fits both descriptions: it’s a military style rifle that was illegal during the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban. The “AR” in the name, however, stands for the name of the manufacturer: “ArmaLite.”
The chief architect behind ArmaLite’s weapons design was Eugene Stoner, a young man in his thirties with a knack for weapons design.
Let us fast forward to the early 1960’s when ArmaLite succeeds in selling its design for what they are calling the AR10 and the AR-15 to Colt Firearms. Colt introduces the rifle as the well-known M-16 (the “M” is the military designation for model) … a rifle used by many Vietnam veterans.
Now, here is where we need to get a little technical for those not familiar with the AR-15 that is sold in gun stores around the country as the single most popular rifle ever sold to the public and the military M-16 which has now, after some 50 plus years of service, morphed into the US military’s M-4A1.
The original ArmaLite AR-15 was designed with a “selector” switch that permitted the operator to select “semi” (single shot) fire or fully “automatic fire” (sometimes referred to by the soldiers in Vietnam as “Rock & Roll”) … the third position was the safety position. Please note in the image where this switch was located:
It was the fully automatic fire function that would have classified this rifle as an “assault weapon.” But, US laws, as administered and enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, prohibit the possession and use of fully automatic weapons without government approval and licensing.
The weapon so popular with gun owners throughout the country is a non-military version of the M-16, marketed and sold as the AR-15 by several manufacturers. The distinguishing difference is the lack of the selector switch allowing fully automatic fire. The AR-15 rifle is limited to a single squeeze of the trigger in order to fire a single round.
So, as we have seen earlier, a military “style” weapon that lacks the capabilities of a military weapon cannot be classified as an “Assault Weapon”! It is a single shot rifle … to some it might appear to be a “scary rifle” or perhaps even an “SBG” – Scary Black Gun — but it is not an Assault Weapon … Full Stop!
It should be noted that even the Army decided some time ago that the fully automatic function of the M-16 / M-4 was not a necessary capability for the Infantryman in combat. The Army found that the infantryman was less likely to take accurate aim with the rifle — depending on a “high volume of bullets expended in the “Rock & Roll” mode to hit the target.”
Post war studies showed that was not case with the US ground forces in Vietnam who expended well over 700,000 small arms rounds for every one (1) enemy soldier killed.
The Army subsequently redesigned the now M-4 rifle with a new capability — a selector switch that allows the soldier to select 3-round burst or semi/single shot. The wisdom of this change is reflected in the significantly reduced small arms expenditures in Afghanistan and Iraq. For the record, this 3-round burst capability is still NOT available in the commercial rifle.
America is not nearly as endangered by the AR-15 as it is endangered by its Socialist Democrat politicians — who have surrounded themselves with the M-4’s of the Army National Guard … while also striving to deny you and me the same protection. It is important to understand that these Socialist Democrats are trying to bamboozle the American public. We must fight back – your ability to protect your home and family are on the line.
DO NOT LET THE SOCIALIST DEMOCRATS WIN – PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS – PROTECT THE SECOND AMENDMENT
