Trend: AR-15s Continue to Fuel Debate

I reported on a D.C. rally against gun violence, weaving community voices with expert insight on assault weapons and legislation.

WASHINGTON — More than 150 community members came together at a Tuesday night rally organized by the Washington Interfaith Network. Spiritual leaders from across the city spoke to the harms of gun violence in their communities and the need for better violence prevention.

The Rev. Delonte Gholston discussed the effects of gun violence on the Black community. Gholston said that his community has suffered greatly and fears further death and injury.

“The wound of our people is the wound of violence and being told over and over that you have no value,” Gholston said.

Gholston spoke almost a year after a racially-motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, New York left 10 people dead. The Buffalo shooting was carried out using an AR-15-style weapon.

The AR-15 and other semi-automatic firearms have also been used in a number of high-profile mass shootings so far in 2023, including those in Nashville, Tennessee, Louisville, Kentucky and Cleveland, Texas.

The definition of what constitutes a mass shooting varies, but the definition used by multiple news outlets and the Gun Violence Archive requires that four people be shot — injured or killed — for an act to count as a mass shooting.

There have been 190 mass shootings so far in 2023, with more than 250 deaths, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.

The AR-15 has been uplifted by gun enthusiasts who admire its ability to be customized, light weight and accuracy in shooting.

Dave Workman, editor-in-chief of The Gun Mag, a magazine published by a gun-rights organization, expressed enthusiasm for AR-15s, which he said many gun owners enjoy using.

“If my neighbor had a house full of them, it wouldn’t bother me a bit,” Workman said of the AR-15.

Meanwhile, gun-control advocates have criticized it as a weapon primarily used for mass shootings, according to reporting by BBC.

The term “assault weapon” is often used to describe AR-15s and similar firearms, but its use is debated. Gun-rights advocates, including Workman, see it as an ambiguous term that does not provide real meaning about the use or make of the weapon.

Lauren Hartnett is the New York state director for the DC Project, a national women’s organization dedicated to protecting the Second Amendment. Hartnett said many people use AR-style weapons for hunting, recreation and competition, just like other firearms.

“I believe the term ‘assault weapon’ has been used as a scare tactic,” Hartnett wrote in an email.

Typically, an assault weapon or assault rifle refers to a semi-automatic or military-style weapon, such as an AR-15, but these definitions differ legally by state, according to CNBC.

Janice Iwama, a professor at American University and gun law expert, said that only a small fraction of gun crimes are committed with AR-15s and similar weapons. What makes these rare instances serious is the number of people killed or injured.

“A handgun you can use to kill one person, but an assault weapon, if you’re using it, you’re killing more than one person,” Iwama said.

Iwama explained that mass shootings often prompt a push in gun-control legislation at the state level. AR-15s and other semi-automatic weapons are often at the forefront of that conversation.

Currently, 10 states have a ban on assault weapons, the most recent being Washington state, which enacted such a ban on April 25, according to Axios.

Assault weapons, including AR-15s, are legally unregistrable in Washington, D.C., which means that they cannot be bought or sold, according to Giffords, an organization that advocates for gun control.

Similarly, the sale or transfer of most assault weapons are banned in the state of Maryland. But in Virginia, most assault weapons are legal for adults to purchase, though there are some limits on where they can be carried.

One major concern with gun restrictions, according to Iwama, is that people often bring guns from states with more relaxed gun laws into states with stricter regulations. While they may be required to register their guns in the state, many do not, Iwama explained.

“They’re probably not going into a system because, again, how enforceable is it?” Iwama said. “It’s not very.”

Many people support tighter gun restrictions, especially in regard to AR-15s and other semi-automatic weapons.

Julia Toloczko, an 18-year-old freshman at Georgetown University, expressed concern about the prevalence of guns and said the solution to gun violence is tighter restrictions on firearms, including bans on AR-15s.

“There shouldn’t be any reason that individuals have access to assault rifles,” Toloczko said in a previous interview.

Another method being used by gun-control advocates to limit the harm done by firearms is bans on high-capacity magazines, which are often defined as those capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition, according to Giffords.

Fourteen states and the District currently have bans on high-capacity magazines at either 10 or 15 rounds, sometimes depending on the type of gun, Giffords reported.

Gun-rights advocates often support such bans because they increase the time necessary to fire a large number of shots. The hope is that this would reduce the number of casualties in future mass shootings, as well as give people more time to escape as the gunman would need to reload the firearm, according to reporting by The Washington Post.

Not everyone is in support of such bans.

Spencer Morrison, vice president of the student libertarian group Students for Liberty at AU, said he does not think they would be very effective.

“That’s the simplest part of operating a firearm,” Morrison said. “People are just going to start making them on their own.”

Morrison also expressed concern about disarming the population and said he thinks any ban on weapons would create a slippery slope to other restrictions.

Morrison is from Hawaii, and his family is native to the islands. Many Native Hawaiians are afraid of being exploited or harmed by the government, so they often value the right to gun ownership in case they ever need to defend their lives or property, according to Morrison.

“Historically and preparing for the future, this is a part of keeping their community safe,” Morrison said.

For many local Washington residents, the safety of their community comes from the opposite: taking guns off the streets.

At the WIN rally Tuesday night at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Rev. Gholston expressed frustration at what he said was little action being taken to keep guns off the streets and ensure that more people and more children are not killed or hurt due to gun violence.

“The truth is that each and every last one of us has our hand on the trigger,” Gholston said.

People sitting in the pews chanted “shame” when Gholston spoke of the lack of action he saw from those in power.

Councilwoman Brooke Pinto, who represents Ward 2 on the City Council, spoke about the responsibility of individuals and elected officials to combat gun violence, especially considering its lifelong effects on children.

“We have to take that responsibility seriously,” Pinto said.

Children and youth were on the minds of all speakers at the rally. There have been two mass shootings at K-12 schools so far this year in Nashville and Pittsburgh. The Nashville shooting at an elementary school was carried out using an AR-15-style gun.

Jasmine Brann, who is the principal of Tyler Elementary School in Ward 6, said at the rally that she worries about the mental and emotional toll of gun violence on children, many of whom live in “real fear of mass school shootings.”

“It’s hard to focus on algebra or writing good essays when they constantly feel unsafe,” Brann said.

From top/left: Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Councilwoman Brooke Pinto, the Rev. Delonte Gholston

Photos by Leta Lattin