The family of the man who invented the AR-15 rifle is speaking out (finally!) about what the original purpose of his invention was, and guess what? It was to kill enemies during a war, not fellow citizens people don't agree with.
"Our father, Eugene Stoner, designed the AR-15 and subsequent M-16 as a military weapon to give our soldiers an advantage over the AK-47," the Stoner family told NBC News late Wednesday. "He died long before any mass shootings occurred. But, we do think he would have been horrified and sickened as anyone, if not more by these events."
These statements matter, not only as pressure points for all of us to demand they be banned from sale to civilians, but also because of a pending lawsuit against the manufacturer of the AR-15, brought by Sandy Hook victims.
But their comments add unprecedented context to their father's creation, shedding new light on his intentions and adding firepower to the effort to ban weapons like the AR-15. The comments could also bolster a groundbreaking new lawsuit, which argues that the weapon is a tool of war — never intended for civilians.
Eugene Stoner would have agreed, his family said.
Yesterday I listened to the filibuster on my phone while running errands and wearing my orange "sensible gun laws save lives" t-shirt. I plan to stand on street corners with it, ride my bike with it, be seen as much as possible in public with it as a bright orange statement about why enough is enough.
The small progress we might see if the Senate actually passes those bills they agreed to votes on after the filibuster is just a baby step. These guns need to GO, whether by an Act of Congress or an act of the courts, or because they suddenly become too much of a liability for those who manufacture them.
This has to end. Enough is enough.
