Opinion: The Parkland shooter's AR-15 was designed to kill as efficiently as possible

NBC "News" ^ | February 15, 2018 | by Dr. Ernest E. Moore

[Oldeconomybuyer]

I am a trauma surgeon, and I've seen what AR-15s can do. There's no reason for civilians to own them.

An assault rifle is designed to deliver fatal wounds to multiple individuals within a short time period; it has no other purpose. The AR-15, the civilian version of the military assault rifle (M16 or M4), has become the most commonly used rifle in US mass shootings; the recent shootings in Parkland and Las Vegas, for instance, testify to the effectiveness of this weapon’s design. It was made for the military, to allow members of the armed forces to better dispatch multiple enemies in short order; in the hands of civilians, it not only clearly serves the same purpose for some individuals, but it’s unclear what other purpose it could serve, given how and why it was made.

Given that, there is no reason that these weapons should be broadly available to the civilian population. But, given that they are, let’s all understand how they are designed to kill people, not simply to shoot targets for fun.

As a trauma surgeon for 40 years (and avid hunter for much longer), I am dismayed that we remain paralyzed over preventive measures. There have already been 18 school shootings in 2018, when one would be too many: This cannot remain a political issue when it is clearly an issue of common sense.

[EternalVigilance]

When a liberal sees a firearm they see a fearful weapon that they wish only to be in the hands of government, naively ignoring the obvious facts that:

1) Criminals are never going to follow their fond wishes,

2) Officers of government are most often not going to be there for them in a crisis,

3) We the People are the government in America, the sovereign, and the sovereign must possess the physical means to protect their people and their country from all enemies, foreign or domestic.

When a conservative sees a firearm he sees a primary implement of liberty, one that can be misused by evil men, of course, but that is, nonetheless, an indispensable tool, because this is a fallen world which contains many evil men, men who will only be restrained by the will and force of good men who are armed.

[JmyBryan]

We all jes gon’ be undocumented gun owners...

[Red Steel]

A shooter could use an old timer 1873 rifle like a .44/40 lever-action that have large magazine can do the same amount of carnage and more. Schools and classrooms are confined area and close up full of students, which makes it easy... for any gun.

Liberals like Geraldo Rivera who fixate on “AR-15s’” because they think it looks mean, don’t know what they are talking about.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

LOL!

[ViLaLuz]

Doctors can, and do, kill people.

[metmom]

Given that, there is no reason that these weapons should be broadly available to the civilian population. But, given that they are, let’s all understand how they are designed to kill people, not simply to shoot targets for fun.

I hear they're good for wild boar hunting.

And they are going to be really good for defending yourself against attack by human predators.

These guys forget this incident......

In Texas, a good guy with a gun took on a bad guy with a gun, feeding both sides of the gun control debate

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-texas-shooting-guns-20171106-story.html

[metmom]

Ouch.......

[metmom]

Excuse me, mister, but do you also want to go after all the LE and FBI who were WARNED about this kid and ignored it?