Summary
According to polling by The Washington Post and Ipsos, about 1 in 20 adults, or roughly 16 million people in the U.S., own an AR-15.
It's been used in 10 of the 17 most deadly mass shootings in the United States since 2012. And while they weren't initially designed for civilian use, they've become a powerful symbol for pro-gun advocates.
We get into the rise and history of the AR-15, and how its cultural legacy impacts the gun law debate.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The AR-15 is the best-selling rifle in America. |
| 0:12.2 | According to polling by the Washington Post and Ipsos, about 120 adults in the US own an |
| 0:17.8 | AR-15 that's roughly 16 million people. |
| 0:21.7 | I own an AR-15 and I have to say it's an amazing rifle. |
| 0:26.7 | I've had two AR-15s. |
| 0:28.5 | I've used them both exclusively for target shooting. |
| 0:32.4 | I do own several of them and I've owned them since I was in the Army Reserve. |
| 0:37.1 | I had to maintain. |
| 0:38.5 | That was my job as the armor of my reserve unit. |
| 0:42.2 | I was also a police officer for a while. |
| 0:44.6 | The AR-15 gets a lot of bed press appropriately so because of young males with mental problems |
| 0:53.3 | and mass shootings. |
| 0:54.5 | I do think that we need better gun control to prevent these weapons from falling to the hands |
| 1:00.1 | of people. |
| 1:01.1 | I don't think there should be any question about that. |
| 1:04.3 | AR-15s have been used in 10 of the 17 most deadly mass shootings in the United States since |
| 1:10.2 | 2012. |
| 1:11.6 | And while they weren't initially designed for civilian use, they've become a powerful |
| 1:15.4 | symbol for pro-gun advocates. |
| 1:17.8 | That AR and AR-15 stands for Armolite Rifle, a reference to the company that first designed |
| 1:23.1 | it for military use. |
| 1:24.6 | Today, we talk about the history and rise in popularity of the AR-15. |
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