LETTER: Military version of AR-15 should be off limits to civilians

Robert Bencivenga Henderson

2 years ago

This photo provided by the Metro Nashville Police Department shows officers at an active shoote ... — This photo provided by the Metro Nashville Police Department shows officers at an active shooter event that took place at Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Nashville, Tenn. Monday, March 27, 2023. Six people, three of them students and three of them employees, were killed. The shooter was also killed. (Metro Nashville Police Department via AP)

Having used the military version of the AR-15 (M-16) in the Army, I have seen firsthand what a high-muzzle-velocity, tumbling round from one of these weapons does to flesh. No civilian should be allowed to own these types of weapons. It would be very easy for Congress to ban them if they had a spine, just like they ban machine guns in most cases and other weapons of war.

Get the ARs off the streets. Only the military and paramilitary (police) organizations should own them. Pass a law to ban them and require citizens to sell them back to the government. The owners are not out any money, the streets get a lot safer and the Second Amendment stays intact.