Gun control Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) tweeted Sunday that AR-15 rifles are not necessary for hunting or self-defense and suggested mass shooters would be those “most affected” by an “assault weapons” ban.
He described the AR-15 as “the mass shooter’s best friend,” omitting any mention that the shooting at an Atlanta hospital earlier in the week was carried out with a handgun.
Murphy tweeted:
You don’t need an AR-15 to hunt or protect your family.
You need an AR-15 if you want to kill as many people as possible in as short an amount of time as possible.
It’s the mass shooter’s best friend. They would be the people most affected by its ban.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) May 7, 2023
The AR-15 is the most popular rifle platform in America, as variants of the rifle are used for long range shooting, competition, hunting (predator and big game), as well as self-defense, home defense, and plinking.
On February 17, 2018, Breitbart News pointed out that then-Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) claimed AR-15s are “not for hunting.”
NBC News quoted Nelson saying, “I have hunted all my life. I still hunt with my son. But an AR-15 is not for hunting, it’s for killing.”
Nelson’s claims ran counter to those made by ATF Associate Deputy Director Turk, who actually pushed for a categorization of AR-15s to reflect their growing use in hunting.
Get the truth from @AWRHawkins. pic.twitter.com/BcesShIuMX
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 9, 2019
On January 20, 2017, the Washington Post published a “White Paper” wherein Turk wrote, “The use of AR-15s, AK-style, and similar rifles now commonly referred to as “modern sporting rifles” has increased exponentially in sport shooting. These firearm types are now standard for hunting activities. ATF could re-examine its 20-year-old study to bring it up to date with the sport shooting landscape of today, which is vastly different than it was years ago.”
On July 21, 2022, Breitbart News pointed to National Shooting Sports Foundation numbers showing there are more AR-15/AK47-type rifles in circulation than there are Ford F-Series trucks on the road. (There were nearly 25 million AR-15/AK-47 rifles in circulation at that time.)
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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