“The AR-15 platform weapon – whether in a long rifle or a pistol – has essentially the same firepower. It’s a semi-automatic made for combat,” said Timothy D. Lytton, a weapons industry expert at Georgia State University.
“The AR-15 pistol is almost a novelty. Basically it’s the same firearm, but with a much shorter barrel, and with a shorter stock, and it’s a smaller weapon. So in the same way that some people want to drive a sports car. Because they appreciate the sense of compactness and kind of speed, they essentially take a combat weapon or a combat-style weapon and reduce it all to sort of a miniature version. ”
‘You can put the thing under a jacket’
The AR-15 was designed in the 1950s for the US military. It was invented by Eugene Stoner, who worked for a company called Armalite, which is where the AR came from. The number 556 refers to the caliber – 5.56 millimeters.
“So the shorter barrel and shorter stock make up a smaller weapon that would make it easier to carry around,” Lytton said. It would certainly make it more concealable. You can put the thing under a jacket in a way that is difficult to put an AR 15 platform rifle under your jacket. ‘
AR-15s are usually semi-automatic, meaning one bullet is fired each time the trigger is pulled. They are loaded with magazines that automatically feed bullets while the gun is fired.
Magazine capacity varies, usually from 10 rounds – the legal limit in some states – but sometimes by 30.
AR-15 style rifles have been used in some of the deadliest mass killings in recent US history, including the 2012 shooting spree at a Aurora, Colorado movie theater that killed 12 people.
An AR-15 style rifle was also the weapon a former student used to massacre 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The Parkland shooting is one of the shootings listed in the Boulder ordinance banning assault weapons.
‘It’s not your normal gun’
Colorado state law does not include the type of firearms Boulder was trying to ban – semi-automatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and have a pistol grip, a folding or telescoping stock, or any device that can stabilize the weapon with the non-trigger hand – under the list of illegal or dangerous weapons.
The state bans magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds, while Boulder’s ordinance banned magazines that can accept more than 10 rounds.
“You know enthusiasts like it because, as they like to say, it’s some kind of fire-breathing weapon on the range,” Lytton said of the AR-15 pistol.
“It is not your normal gun. It has the firepower of a long gun. And also because it is classified as a handgun in some states. It would not be subject to restrictions for long guns with a short barrel … There is one. certain a lot of discussion about what the status of the weapon is, but you can imagine it could qualify as a pistol and as a pistol it wouldn’t be subject to trite shotgun regulations You can’t take a regular AR-15 in many states and just saw off the muzzle and walked around with a concealable long rifle. This basically allows you to just have a shorter muzzle and do the same thing. ”
AR-15s and similar military-style rifles such as AK-47s are often referred to as assault rifles or assault weapons, although members of the weapons industry prefer to call them modern sport rifles or MSRs.
These weapons were restricted by federal law for 10 years, until the so-called assault weapons ban expired in 2004. That ban limited certain parts of the weapon, such as the pistol grips and bayonet mounts, and limited the magazine capacity to 10.
Gun enthusiasts are fans of the AR-15
The AR-15’s versatility, including flash suppressors, pistol grips and even bayonets, makes it popular with firearms enthusiasts.
“If you want to build a rifle, take an AR-15 frame and put a long-barreled filter on it,” said Daniel G. O’Kelly, director of the Dallas-based International Firearm Specialist Academy and former agent at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“If you want to build an AR-15 pistol, you just put a pistol grip and a short barrel on it. And as a result of those attributes, it is classified by federal definitions as a pistol rather than a rifle.”
O’Kelly said there are hundreds of AR-15 makers in the US. It is the most popular rifle in the country.
“It’s modular and you can adapt it to your own needs or taste,” he said.
“All functions are clickable, clickable. So you can change the calibers, the barrel length, the type of grip, the type of shoulder rests, the type of sites … I don’t know if I could name a toy – that would probably sounds weird – but there are toys that are probably popular with kids because of all the accessories you can get to change it or accessorize it and make it yours, unlike any other. That’s a big part of the appeal . “
CNN’s Whitney Wild, Veronica Stracqualursi and Aaron Smith contributed to this report.