“A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined,
but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition
to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government”.
-George Washington
Why not, we have a national bird.
I dunno…
I kind of think the M1 Garand fills that slot ( yeah I know Kohn GRand was Canadian, blah blah blah…)
Maybe a toss up here…
I think attention to the concept is probably more important than which gun is favored with the designation. When you start putting it beside the national anthem. The Eagle, the Flag, maybe something less specific like long gun fills the bill. Far more people are familiar with 22’s and shotguns than AR’s, just my 2 cents, keep it simple, focus on the concept, not a specific gun.