The New American Rifle

Why Should Americans Own Assault Rifles?

^{A question worth asking, with an answer worth hearing.}

^{Why AR-15s have become the American Rifle, and why Americans want to own one.}

An extremely turbulent topic for both anti-gun activists and gun owners alike, the ownership of the AR-15 came close to being placed under the hammer by the US Government in 2013 and could land back on the chopping block of our freedoms again in the future. If we don't circumvent further lethal and horrific incidences of the AR weapon being used in mindless shootings of innocent people, children, or police, we could see this gun vanish from public purchasing.

But this article isn't about making an argument for why AR weapons should continue to be sold, or for making a point against anti-gun activists. Whether you believe these rifles should be banned or not isn't the topic at hand. What is at hand is why Americans are drawn to these weapons, and why many Americans see the need to own one.

There are plenty of suggestions for reasons why men and women in America are buying this weapon, mostly though, there are very few credible answers.

Lets look at a few possible explanations.

Assault rifles have a long history in the US military, but it wasn't until the Vietnam war that we saw the real introduction of the AR rifle. The M-16A1 was the birth of the AR-15 era and with that first generation of assault rifles, Colt Arms designed the first semiautomatic AR civilian market rifle modeled after the M-16 rifle. The M-16 is really what started it all and eventually led to the AR-15 variants we see available in gun shops all over America today. 

There seems to be a special desire for civilians to own a weapon used in American wars and its conflicts. We can go all the way back to the first Henry Arms lever action repeater, used near the end of the American civil war, to see the desire for Americans to own a rifle used by our military and deemed as a symbol of American power. 

The lever action repeater became the most sought after rifles in American history. It was shown as the weapon that won the west, and every kid alive wanted to have a under-lever variant of this rifle as a toy and even a BB gun. We see this rifle in every western movie ever made, and in the movie Christmas Story. 

"You'll shoot your eye out", ring any bells? 

Today the rifle of yesteryear is now the AR Rifle. Not just because its seen in every modern action movie made, and possibly every FPS game ever made too, but for the history behind the gun itself. Just like the repeater. 

We also see the AR in war movies about Vietnam, the Iraq War, and so on. The lever action repeater was simply replaced by a modernized version of the American rifle. Which is what the AR has become, the modernized American Rifle.

I've heard people say that we (American Civilians) own and purchase this rifle because our police and military have it and so should we. Which is a good argument, but not good enough to have instigated such a mass buying of this rifle, not every owner of the AR rifle owns this gun out of fear of our police or military. 

Another explanation is that Americans fear our government or a form of economic disaster that would create a world where this rifle would become handy in a fight against possible unforeseen enemies of American civilians. 

There are many people who firmly believe in a form of collapse in America, where civilians would need to defeat "some enemy" of some creation, be it the government or a breakdown of civic proportions. Buying into this theory or the many like it would mean believing in some cataclysmic disaster, which I do not believe is totally possible. 

I myself do not believe in these conspiracy theories, but I'm intelligent enough to not dismiss any theory entirely. The possibility of Americans needing to fight against some unforeseen enemy really isn't in the cards, but if you believe in the idea that "Anything can happen", then you can grasp my stance on this subject. As the old saying goes, better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it. 

I think and believe the main reason Americans want to own the AR is not just because we see it everywhere in the news and in movies, fps games and etc...because if that was true, we would also be talking about the AK-47, another weapon of popularity found in the same pool of media. Rather I think the main reason for ownership of the AR is what it represents.

To me, in my thoughts, the AR-15 represents American power .vs the AK-47 which represents the enemy assault weapon used against Americans in our conflicts across the globe, past or present. So therefore, the AK rifle isn't as desirable as the AR. Just like Americans saw the lever action repeaters of yesteryear, which represented America .vs the untamed wild west. 

This isn't about having the same firepower as our military and police. It seems more about holding a piece of American pride in your hands. Its about pride in our military, and firing a weapon that can bring you to the sands of Iraq, like the lever action brought us to the sands of the wild-west.

I don't know why or how the mentally sick come to using the AR to commit atrocities, and I'm sickened by these numbing shootings, but I don't believe our government should ban the Assault rifle. I think background checks should also accompany a psychology record or even a current mental assessment. Look, I don't know how we can implement safe guards to stop the misuse and murdering occurring in America by people with AR rifles, but I do know that our second amendment right clearly states one thing. Our rights can not be infringed.