With the most recent school mass shooting deaths in Nashville, Tennessee, another community is trying to make sense of why assault-style rifles, the weapon used by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, in these killings, are so popular among Americans. Hale was armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun when she shot her way into the private Christian school and killed six, including three 9-year-olds.

The most popular model of assault-style rifles in the United States is the AR-15. The truth is that this rapid-fire gun is the best-selling weapon in the country, according to industry figures. A statistic that absolutely astounded me is that about 1 in 20 adult Americans now owns one, a version of which is produced by almost every major gun maker.

Put another way, this means that in Carbon County, with an adult population of about 50,000, there could be about 2,500 AR-15 style weapons throughout the county. In Lehighton and Palmerton, the two largest boroughs in the county, there are about 4,000 adults in each, meaning there could be about 200 of these weapons in each community.

The AR-15 thrives in times of tension and tragedy, in other words the type of environment that we are experiencing in our country now. This is how it has come to dominate the marketplace.

Why is this if critics claim that the military-style gun has no legitimate civilian use? The most authoritative answers to this puzzling question come from a 2022 Washington Post/Ipsos poll of nearly 400 AR-15 owners which asked them to explain their reasons for having such a weapon, what they use it for and how often they fire it. (Most said a few times a year). The margin of error was plus or minus 5.5%.

I have been very curious about the disconnect between those who use guns for sport and the need for such a heavy-duty weapon such as an AR-15 whose use critics contend is mainly intended to kill people - lots of people.

It also has become a stark symbol of the nation’s gun violence epidemic. Ten of the 17 deadliest U.S. mass shootings since 2012 have involved AR-15s. The survey found that owners of these guns are more likely to be white (74%), male (81%) and between the ages of 40 and 65 (56%). They’re also more likely to have higher incomes (56% have incomes of $100,000 or more).

The survey showed that 72% of these owners did not serve in the military and are more likely to live in states that former President Donald Trump won in 2020.

According to the poll, self-defense was the reason most given for owning an AR-15. Other favored responses were for recreation, target-shooting and hunting. Others said it was their Second Amendment right to own the weapon.

As I have admitted to readers in a previous column, I owned a Red Ryder B-B gun for about an hour when I received it from my parents as a birthday present when I was about 12 years of age.

Excited that my parents came through with the gift that I really wanted, I stepped out of our home fronting on Summit Avenue between White and Ludlow streets in my hometown of Summit Hill, aimed the gun at a bird perched on a telephone wire about 20 feet away. Since it was the first time I had ever had a gun of any type in my hand, I had no expectation of hitting the bird. To me it was merely a target I was aiming at to make sure the gun fired correctly.

I was stunned when the shot rang out, and the bird dropped off the wire onto the ground, dead as a doornail. I was disconsolate that I had killed a living thing. I took the gun to my father, told him what I had done and insisted he take the gun from me as a permanent punishment, which he did. Because of this life-changing incident, I have never had a gun in my hand again but always marveled at those who revered them, mostly for hunting.

Getting back to the AR-15 survey, 33% of the respondents said they had the guns to protect their home, self and family, 15% said they used the weapon for target-shooting or competition, with another 15% saying they used the gun for recreation and fun/sport. Another 12% said they used the high-powered weapon for hunting, and another 12% cited their right to have one because of the Second Amendment. There were a number of other answers, including 3% who said they had one in the event of “government tyranny or chaos.”

The rugged, powerful weapon was originally designed as a soldier’s rifle in the late 1950s. “An outstanding weapon with phenomenal lethality,” is the way the Pentagon described it in an internal memo. It soon became standard issue for U.S. troops in the Vietnam War, where the weapon earned a new name: the M16.

The rise in popularity of these weapons for civilian use began after the expiration of a federal assault weapons ban in 2004. Some gun manufacturers saw it as a way to capitalize on the post-9/11 surge in demand for gun ownership.

By the way, the “AR” in the name does not stand for “assault rifle” or “automatic rifle.” It stands for “ArmaLite rifle,” the company that developed it in the 1950s. These weapons can range in price from under $1,000 to customized versions that sell for thousands of dollars.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.