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6A — BAKER CITY HERALD FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2019 STATE & NATION AR-15 rifle puts form, not function, at the heart of gun control debate ■ Emphasis on appearance shapes firearm regulation, to the frustration of many gun owners and gun control advocates alike By Jonathan Levinson “They operate the exact same way. More often than not, they shoot the same round, too, with the same capacity. One is just scary looking.” Oregon Public Broadcasting The AR-15 has taken center stage in the American gun debate. But at its heart, the AR-15 is a rifl e that has been modifi ed to look and feel a certain way. The emphasis on its appearance, however, has shaped how the country regulates fi rearms, to the frustration of many gun own- ers and gun control advo- cates alike. The AR-15 is a semiau- tomatic rifl e that usually shoots 5.56 mm rounds. It has a detachable maga- zine so users can put in 5-, 10-, 30-, or even 60- and 100-round magazines. The rifl e that likely comes to mind is black and has any number of aftermarket attachments. Maybe there’s a grip attached under the bar- rel or a scope that might look like it’s made for a sniper. The rifl e is easily customized, and that’s part of its popular- ity. It’s also the source of a running joke in the fi rearms community. “I get ARs in here that weigh 20 pounds they have so much s--- on them,” said Jon Bush, a gunsmith in Vancouver, Washington. “Whatever you want to put on, including your coffee grinder.” Bush is a competitive shooter and said the AR-15 is great for that. “Any platform you can shoot faster and accurate for competition gives you an edge,” Bush said. But, he — Jon Bush, gunsmith, comparing the AR-15 and the lesser known Mini-14 rifl es Violent imagery has also taken over the discussions around gun control — to the annoyance of some gun own- ers and the frustration of people trying to change laws. “Most of the politicians who deal with this issue, they don’t really have a clue about guns,” Diaz lamented. Andy Tullis / The (Bend) Bulletin fi le photo-2018 Redmond resident William McAlister, foreground, fi res an AR-15 at his target. Other shooters prepare to fi re under the watchful eye of range safety offi cer Gary Bryson, of Redmond, at the High Desert Shooting Sports Complex in Redmond. added, “hunting-wise, an AR is not that great.” He thinks people love their ARs for other reasons. It’s an image. “It’s got that little ‘tacticool’ look to it, and you can go out and see the range ninjas playing around and every- thing,” he said. Bush said this obsession with how the gun looks is most obvious when compar- ing the AR-15 to another gun: the Mini-14. That’s also a semiauto- matic rifl e — meaning it auto-loads but fi res only one bullet for each pull of the trigger — but it has a wood frame. It looks more like your grandpa’s hunting rifl e than something SEAL Team 6 might carry. “They operate the exact same way,” Bush said. “More often than not, they shoot the same round, too, with the same capacity. 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But when it comes to fi rearms used for hunting or self- defense, the answer is, “No.’ ” — Beto O’Rourke, Democratic presidential candidate, elaborating on why he supports restricting access to AR-15 rifl es but not some other fi rearms company released in 2016, adored, nor vilifi ed. Most people have never heard of it. a video plays of bearded soldiers in Humvee tur- Selling an emotional rets patrolling through fog, response shooting machine guns at Guns are not just tools in an out-of-frame enemy. Over modern America. There is a the video, a baritone nar- lot of emotion wrapped up rator with a grizzled voice in people’s decisions around reads, “We are … warriors, fi rearms, according to Kier- shouldered by the bravest of sten Muenchinger, a prod- the brave, tortured, tested on uct design professor at the the battlefi elds, cherished in University of Oregon who foxholes and proven worthy studies how Americans give in the trenches.” meaning to guns far beyond Tom Diaz, a staff attorney their functional purpose. in the 1990s for the U.S. “It’s such a jumble with House Subcommittee on how we feel about having Crime and Criminal Justice fi rearms, having lots of who helped pass the 1994 fi rearms, being able to have Assault Weapons Ban, said any kind of fi rearm, having FN isn’t alone. a collection of fi rearms,” she “If you look at industry said. ads,” Diaz said, “in many of In trying to understand the magazines and particu- the focus on the AR-15, larly in their catalogs, you Muenchinger said we can will see that they play direct- take a cue from product ly to this image of the armed design. person in the military.” “An aspect of what you’re That is potentially dan- looking for in your newly gerous. Frequent imagery designed product is crave- glorifying military violence ability and (that) it triggers can make it seem normal some emotional response,” and possibly a little easier to she said. commit for someone already Today, the emotional predisposed to violence. response that typically sells “There is a subset of guns is about war. people,” Diaz said, “for whom Take, for instance, FN I do think the bar has been Herstal, a Belgian company lowered, partly through that makes civilian and industry advertising, partly military fi rearms, including through incautious language the M2 Browning .50-caliber by some of our leaders and machine gun and the M249 partly through just plain light machine gun. provocative language from In a commercial the people at extremes.” Mobile Service Outstanding Computer Repair Any issue $40 fl at rate Call or Text 24/7 Dale Bogardus 541-297-5831 If your computer is scary and slow to boot give me a call and I will save you some loot! View prices and book an appointment at www.LesSchwab.com Off er valid September 1st - October 31st, 2019 Limited time off er. While supplies last. Discount depends on the tire size & type. Cannot be combined with other off ers. www.outstandingcomputerrepair.com Refurbished Desktop & Laptops For Sale House calls (let me come to you!) Drop Offs & Remote Services are Available All credit cards accepted Can you ban an image? Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke drew attention recently for saying an O’Rourke admin- istration would push to ban certain rifl es, after a mass shooting in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, left 22 people dead. On CNN recently, he was asked to elaborate. “When it comes to AR-15s and AK-47s … that belongs on the battlefi eld; it does not belong in this country,” O’Rourke told host Chris Cuomo. “But when it comes to fi rearms used for hunting or self-defense, the answer is, ‘No.’” O’Rourke did not explain what differentiates a hunt- ing rifl e from an AR-15, but Congress has tried. In 1994, the same day it narrowly passed in the Senate, the Assault Weapons Ban was signed by President Bill Clinton. The legislation expired in 2004. The law banned a handful of specifi c makes and models and certain features, but it did little to address the underlying lethal aspects of the weapons. The law did not ban all semiautomatic fi rearms, but it banned most AR- and AK- type rifl es. If your rifl e had a pistol grip, you were probably in the clear. Same if it had a bayonet mount. But if your rifl e had both, then you might have had an issue. Diaz, the U.S. House at- torney, worked on the bill but thinks it took the wrong approach. “The 1994 defi nition was ludicrous,” Diaz said. “Things like a bayonet mount — I mean, what the hell does that have to do with fi repow- er? Almost nothing.” Predictably, loopholes abounded and most research concluded the 1994 ban didn’t really work to reduce gun violence. (A soon-to- be-released Stanford study found it did decrease the fre- quency of mass shootings.) Firearms companies just tweaked their designs to make them compliant while selling essentially the same guns, a problem California and Connecticut continue to have with their respective assault weapons bans. Diaz said people need to stop obsessing over looks and just ban the one capability that makes guns so deadly: high-capacity magazines. “Let’s make it eight rounds, no grandfather- ing,” he said. “So all of these 10-, 20-, 30-, 40-, 60-, 90-, 100-round magazines become contraband after a grace period.” He said an AR-style rifl e loaded with eight rounds is a whole different creature than an AR with 60.