Why the Fuck Does Anyone Need an AR-15?

Ten people were shot and killed in the parking lot and aisles of a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket on Monday afternoon. Among those killed was a police officer who entered the store in response to reports of shots fired. Witnesses reported hearing up to thirty shots.  21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa of Arvada, Colorado, was taken into custody and will be charged with ten counts of murder.  The number of rapid fire shots suggests a semiautomatic weapon, and CNN cites a law-enforcement official as saying that the weapon was an AR-15 style rifle.

The shooting comes less than two weeks after Colorado blocked the city of Boulder from enforcing a local ordinance banning AR-15 style weapons and magazines with a greater than 10 shot capacity, as reported by the Denver Post. Just six days before the shooting, the NRA celebrated the ruling in a tweet calling it “an NRA victory in Colorado.”  More like a victory for mass murders.

In 2000, around 85,000 AR-15 style rifles were sold. In 2005, after the assault weapons ban ended, the number jumped to 125,000. By 2008, sales exceeded 300,000. In 2012, sales exceeded 1 million for the first time. They’ve never fallen below that line since. The AR-15 now accounts for about a third of all rifles sold. And while 2020 may have dented most items in the economy, it was a record year for firearms sales.

Two decades ago, these were rare rifles owned by a small percentage of Americans who owned guns. A short time ago, the majority of rifles fell into two categories—.22 rimfire rifles used primarily for target shooting and small game; larger caliber centerfire rifles, many of them bolt or lever action, used in hunting deer and large game. Something like the AR-15 was an exotic item, even for people who owned guns.

The AR-15 (and similar assault weapons) were designed to kill as many people as possible in a short amount of time. There is no defense against such a weapon. Not only was one of those who died an armed police officer, it’s a fair bet that others in the store were armed.  Concealed carry is legal everywhere in Colorado. None of that would matter, because this type of rifle is designed to allow the murder of multiple people before there can be any possible response. Millions of Americans have purchased rifles that are only really good at killing millions of other Americans.