Further still, the modular rifle has become ingrained in the American consciousness by way of mass-casualty events, and is favored by killers who are looking to do as much damage to the human body as possible. At least 10 of the 17 deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history involved a gunman wielding an AR-15 style rifle.
Despite Republican attempts to portray Democratic efforts to curtail the weapon’s availability as an infringement on the lifestyles of blue-collar countrymen, invoking images of farmers and backwoods hunters, the vast majority of AR-15 owners are actually non-rural, with 48 percent living in suburban sprawl and 24 percent living in cities. Additionally, AR-15 owners tend to be some of the wealthier among us, 56 percent having annual incomes in excess of $100,000, according to the Post/Ipsos survey.
Over the last decade, gun rights groups have spent more than $141 million on political lobbying, with GOP legislators reaping the bulk of it, according to data from OpenSecrets. Meanwhile, the money behind “gun rights” lobbying groups has dwarfed gun control efforts every year dating back to 1998.