Few lines in the sand remain as contentious as the AR-15; to some, it’s a symbol of American liberty and responsible gun ownership, while to others, it’s an instrument of violence and tragedy. The debate on whether the AR-15 is an assault rifle has persisted and seen persuasive arguments from both sides over the years.
The path of the AR-15 into American culture is a tale of transformation. Jeff Swarey purchased the AR-15 five years ago and was convinced that he wanted to own the rifle after first experiencing it through video games. After losing both his legs to a bomb in Afghanistan, Jessie K. Fletcher, a former marine sniper, obtained his from his platoon. “It’s essential for patrol duty. It’s the same as police one, but it has some extra stuff on it,” Buntu ALOGTED, Jessica Dorantes, Texas policewoman. Theirs are the stories of the rifle’s deep roots in American gun culture, where its iconic form is both lauded and loathed.
By some accounts, the golden age of the AR-15 can be put in 2004, when the federal assault weapons ban expired. Interest in military firearms had been high; that period saw a great spike in interest because of, among other things, the rising popularity of video game culture, which made shooting sports cooler to younger audiences. The versatility and ease of customizing the rifle made it more popular.
To enthusiasts, the AR-15 is the embodiment of freedom and tradition. It is a rite of passage, the gift to returning soldiers, the way to bond with buddies at the shooting range. But in the public mind, the AR-15 is also the one weapon that has come to exemplify mass shootings, and therefore gun control has increasingly focused on this firearm, and its indiscriminate, widespread use, in America’s gun violence problem.
Responding to the mounting pressure, Colt, a major manufacturer of the AR-15, announced it would suspend production of the gun for the civilian market. Dennis Veilleux, President and Chief Executive Officer of Colt Defense LLC, pointed to “significant excess manufacturing capacity” and a focus on military and law enforcement contracts. But he stressed that Colt remains committed to the Second Amendment and consumers, saying the company will continue to make only the finest quality firearms.
The semi-automatic AR-15 had become the cornerstone of the gun control debate surrounding the U.S. military’s M16. “This is a tiny percentage of the nation’s firearms in general but a high-profile weapon amidst the nation’s gun issues,” said Robert Spitzer, a political science professor at SUNY Cortland. “Gun manufacturers are going to have to be extremely cautious because this is a customer base that is poised to react in ways that will be financial retribution to the industry,” said Adam Winkler, a gun policy expert at UCLA.
Colt decided to cease production of the AR-15 for civilians after receiving substantial orders from the military and police. Huge, high-volume contracts from the military and law enforcement absorbed the company’s production capacity. About a week later, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Colt a $41.9 million contract to produce rifles for foreign militaries.
The AR-15’s status as one of the most favorite firearms in America makes a hazy historical record all the more inconvenient. Colt, founded in 1836 by Samuel Colt, has been one of the U.S. military’s longest-serving suppliers, but the company has fallen on hard times of late: it lost a government contract for the M4 carbine relative to reliability issues, and in 2015 it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The AR-15 debate sticks around as emblematic of a larger discussion over gun control and mental health: “There’s always been kind of a tension between whether warriors are expected to fight with and use actual weapons or whether it’s more of a symbolic gesture,” said one veteran of his time. The role the AR-15 plays in American society keeps changing, just like the country’s complex relationship with firearms, and its difficult struggle to strike a balance between freedom and safety.