
"AR-15s are the most commonly used rifles in marksmanship competitions, training, and home defense," according to the NRA.Īn AR-15 is not a specific model, but a style. An automatic weapon continues to fire as long as you hold down the trigger, and is (mostly) banned in the U.S. " Semi-automatic," as opposed to "automatic," means that the weapon's operator must pull the trigger to fire each shot. Why do mass shooters target schools? Here's what we know after Nashville shooting What is an AR-15 rifle?Īn AR-15 is a semi-automatic or self-loading rifle that has been called "America's rifle" by the NRA with well over 15 million sold by 2019. Mass killing database: Revealing trends, details and anguish of every US event since 2006 Mass shootings increasing: From Texas to California, US sees acceleration of mass shootings What is an AR-15 rifle, and why is it so popular? It's also used by thousands of Americans every day for hunting and target shooting. The same type of gun has also been used in multiple mass shootings. Two weeks before that, an 18-year-old man used a modified AR-15 to kill 10 people and injure three more in a Buffalo, New York grocery store. In November of 2022, a man killed five people and injured 17 others with an AR-15 at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs.ĭays after his 18th birthday a man bought two AR-15 rifles and used one to kill 21 people, including 19 children, at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school in May 2022. Earlier that month a person armed with an AR-15, as well as a handgun and a carbine rifle, stalked through a Nashville elementary school and killed six people, three students and three staff members before being killed by police. Five people were killed, and at least eight others were injured. The previous month, a gunman opened fire with an AR-15 at a Louisville, Kentucky bank. Days before, another killed five neighbors in a rural Texas home after one of them asked him to hold it down. “In that regard, I don’t see why someone needs to be 21 to purchase a firearm.In May, 2023, a man killed eight people at a suburban Dallas mall with an AR-15-style rifle and wounded seven others.

“Our men and women are able to go to war, and fight for our country at age 18 and they are deemed to be adults,” said Serafini. When an 18 year-old with nothing but pure hate in his heart took the lives of 10 black New Yorkers who were doing nothing more than shopping at a grocery store.”ĭespite this new law set to go into effect, not everyone agrees with the changes. “Whether it’s the day to day gun violence, that plagues cities, plagues individuals, plagues families from here to Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, or the mass shooting that occurred in Buffalo on May 14th. “There is no one immune from the pain of gun violence,” stated Governor Kathy Hochul in a press conference on Wednesday. This new law is in direct response to the Buffalo Supermarket Massacre where police say an 18 year-old gunman used a legally obtained semi-automatic gun. They don’t want to go through the hassles or they are just afraid that their rights are getting trampled on and they don’t want to have to lose that right.” “So many people coming in and purchasing because they don’t want to have to get a permit later. “Coming up to this, we’ve seen incredible sales,” said Craig Serafini, Owner of Upstate Guns and Ammo. However, if you are under 21 and already have this type of gun, you can keep it without getting a license.


Semi automatic gun license#
(NEWS10)–Starting September 4th, you must be 21 or older to buy a semi-automatic riffle and must have a semi-automatic license to do so.
