Far more mass shooters use pistols than long guns, most likely because a shooter finds it easier to get into their intended target with a hidden pistol than a hidden rifle. Long guns, including AR-15s, generally account for around 6% of the firearms homicides each year in the US. From the Washington Times: "More than three quarters of mass shootings from 1996 to 2016 involved a handgun, while just 29 percent of shooters used a rifle, according to the New York-based Rockefeller Institute, part of a gun safety initiative convened by a handful of mostly Democratic governors." Article: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/may/29/mass-shooting-handgun-usage-figures-undercut-rifle/
Mike
And yet ....
Aurora: AR-15 (12 killed, 70 injured)
Orlando: AR-15 (50 killed, 53 wounded)
Parkland: AR-15 (17 killed, 17 wounded)
Las Vegas: AR-15 (58 killed, 422 wounded)
Sandy Hook: AR-15 (28 killed, 2 wounded)
Sutherland Springs Church: AR-15 (27 dead, 20 wounded)
San Bernardino: AR-15 (14 dead, 24 wounded)
..... kinda speaks for itself. The number of incidents versus the body count of each incident.
"Handguns figured in the Virginia Tech massacre, Binghamton shootings, 2009 Fort Hood shooting, Oikos University shooting, and 2011 Tucson shooting. The Aurora theater shooting and the Columbine High School massacre were committed by assailants armed with multiple weapons.[citation needed] AR-15 style rifles have been used in a number of the deadliest mass shooting incidents, and have come to be widely characterized as the weapon of choice for perpetrators of mass shootings."
Citations:
- Smith, Aaron (June 21, 2016). "Why the AR-15 is the mass shooter's go-to weapon". CNN. Retrieved February 15, 2018. "The AR-15, the type of rifle used in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, is the weapon of choice for mass killers."
- Picchi, Aimee (June 15, 2016). "America's rifle: The marketing of assault-style weapons". CBS MoneyWatch. CBS News. Retrieved February 23, 2018. "America has grown accustomed to military-style semi-automatic weapons such as the AR-15. It's not hard to see why: These firearms have been heavily marketed to gun owners. But at the same time, they're often the weapons of choice for mass murderers."
- Zhang, Sarah (June 17, 2016). "What an AR-15 Can Do to the Human Body". Wired. Retrieved March 3, 2018. "The AR-15 is America's most popular rifle. It has also been the weapon of choice in mass shootings from Sandy Hook to Aurora to San Bernardino."
- Williams, Joseph P. (November 7, 2017). "How the AR-15 Became One of the Most Popular Guns in America, A brief history of the guns that have become the weapons of choice for mass shootings". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved February 15, 2018. "They're lightweight, relatively cheap and extremely lethal, inspired by Nazi infantrymen on the Eastern Front during World War II. They're so user-friendly some retailers recommend them for children, yet their design is so aggressive one marketer compared them to carrying a "man card" -- although ladies who dare can get theirs in pink. And if the last few mass shootings are any indication, guns modeled after the AR-15 assault rifle -- arguably the most popular, most enduring and most profitable firearm in the U.S. -- have become the weapon of choice for unstable, homicidal men who want to kill a lot of people very, very quickly."
- Jansen, Bart; Cummings, William (November 6, 2017). "Why mass shooters are increasingly using AR-15s". USA Today. Retrieved February 15, 2018. "AR-15 style rifles have been the weapon of choice in many recent mass shootings, including the Texas church shooting Sunday, the Las Vegas concert last month, the Orlando nightclub last year and Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012."
- Oppel Jr., Richard A. (February 15, 2018). "In Florida, an AR-15 Is Easier to Buy Than a Handgun". The New York Times. "Retrieved February 15, 2018. The N.R.A. calls the AR-15 the most popular rifle in America. The carnage in Florida on Wednesday that left at least 17 dead seemed to confirm that the rifle and its variants have also become the weapons of choice for mass killers."
- Lloyd, Whitney (February 16, 2018). "Why AR-15-style rifles are popular among mass shooters". ABC News. Retrieved March 2, 2018. "AR-15-style rifles have become something of a weapon of choice for mass shooters."
- Beckett, Lois (February 16, 2018). "Most Americans can buy an AR-15 rifle before they can buy beer". The Guardian. Retrieved March 2, 2018. "While AR-15 style rifles have become the weapon of choice for some of America's most recent and deadly mass shootings,
these military-style guns are still comparatively rarely used in everyday gun violence."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_StatesThere's also the difference in damage and the range to be considered:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4043345/ar-15-handgun-bullet-wounds-difference/Now, don't get me wrong. My strong support of effective gun regulation for "modern sport rifles" like the AR-15 does not preclude effective regulation for handguns (especially models similar to the Glock brand marketed as "Cheaper than dirt").
And nobody seems to recognize that I haven't once mentioned banning anything. I'd be just as reluctant to suggest banning cars.
Anyway, carry on men.
