Misinformation does not help with gun control either. An AR-15 is not a military grade weapon, putting a ban on military grade guns or assault rifles WILL NOT ban the sales of AR-15s.
I’ve been meaning to follow up on this...
The AR-15, designed by ArmaLite, (hence the designation AR for ArmaLite Rifle) WAS A MILITARY WEAPON. The company had troubles, sold it to Colt.
The M-16 was designed from the AR-15.
I have personally held in my hands the parts required to turn a Civilian, Single-Fire AR-15 into a Select-Fire(full-auto, 3-round burst, single fire) weapon. Gun Shows are a marvelous thing!
The history of the AR-15 and any modern marketed derivative, or of any AK derivatives (AK: Avtomat Kalishnikov or Automatic Kalishnikov Rifle) is for MILITARY USAGE.
NOT SPORTS.
Does requiring a “key” to change cartridges really change the intended design and history of this firearm? Does limiting magazine size?
A skilled rifleman would require less than 5-seconds to change a cartridge prior to the introduction of the key... required for legal “sale” in CA.
Guess what, I talked to a guy who told me he could convert any “keyed” AR to the “Unkeyed Version.” I don’t own one, laughed, changed the subject, wished him well, and walked away.
I have fond memories, as I said, of target shooting with an old Colt AR-15. It was nice, controlled recoil, easy to aim, easy to fire. Illegal for me to own in CA, and so my Dad sold it. Illegal to own because someone used such a rifle to kill school children in 1989. That was an AK. Also now considered a Sports Rifle.
That event was the deadliest non-collegiate school shooting until Columbine. It was perpetrated by a... wait for it...
...white supremacist who targeted mostly SE Asians, killing 5, injuring 32.