During Air force basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, I received instruction in the use of and firing of the M-16. This was during the Vietnam era.
On the firing range, the instructor informed us that the M-16 was the first military rifle designed to kill its victim. The M-16 is the full auto version of the semi-auto AR-15.
How is the M-16 designed to kill?
The .223 is the cartridge used in the M-16. It is smaller and lighter bullet than the 7.62/.30 caliber round used in the M-14. During the early part of the Vietnam war, the M-14 was standard issue for the Army and Marines.
The muzzle velocity of the M-16 was 40% faster then the M-14. 3,750 ft/s vs. 2,800 ft/s.
Because of these features, the 223 will tumble upon entering the chest or abdomen. this tumbling causes it to change directions and damage multiple organs. The instructor also told us that the victim could die of shock just from the impact.
Why is the M-16 designed to kill?
A dead soldier won’t recover from his wounds and return to the battlefield.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates there are roughly 5 million to 10 million AR-15 rifles owned in the United States, a small share of the roughly 300 million firearms owned by Americans.
The following are two case reports released by The Clark County, Nevada, coroner from the deaths of the 58 victims of the Las Vegas shooting on Oct. 1. I am showing these so as to give you an idea of the horrific destructive power of the M-16/AR-15.
Please note the comments the coroner makes about the people who didn’t die instantly.
Case #11
Female
Cause of death: Gunshot wound to the back.
The bullet enters the victim’s right back and passes through her shoulder blade and into her chest cavity, perforating her right lung, heart and left lung, before exiting from her left chest. Clusters of cuts and bruises suggest the victim was either dragged or trampled after collapsing.
Alphin (the coroner)believes the bullet was wobbling when it struck the victim but says it’s hard to tell from the listed measurements.
“Once the bullet travels down through the lungs, that’s a fatal wound,” he said. “Trauma and internal bleeding.”
Case #32
Female
Cause of death: Gunshot wound to the head.
The bullet enters the right side of the victim’s head, fracturing her skull and injuring her brain before exiting the left side of her head. Another bullet appears to have grazed the victim’s right wrist, causing damage to the tissue.
“That bullet was a .223 bullet, it was stable in flight and it was roughly perpendicular to the surface of the head,” Alphin said. “The only good thing is she didn’t suffer. She felt no pain at all. Some of those others, even though they died with the chest cavity wounds, they survived on the ground for 60 to 90 seconds, their heart continued to beat, the blood filled up into the pleural cavity and the thoracic cavity, their brain was still functioning and they knew they were dying and they were in pain. At least this poor woman, it was instant.”
We have a moral dilemma in this country. Can we justify the ownership of 5 to 10 million AR-15 rifles in this country and allow a handful of angry individuals massacre our children and adults?
What can be done? The 2nd Amendment is the most regulated amendment in the Constitution. Congress has the power and has used this power to regulate the amendment. And unbeknownst to Donald Trump, the president does NOT have the power to get rid of an amendment as he claimed to his campaign supporters that Hilary Clinton would get rid of the 2nd Amendment. Only congress or the 50 states have that power.
And by the way,
Trump Signs Bill Revoking Obama-Era Gun Checks for People With Mental Illnesses
Both the House and Senate last week passed the new bill, H.J. Res 40, revoking the Obama-era regulation.
Trump signed the bill into law without a photo op or fanfare. The president welcomed cameras into the oval office Tuesday for the signing of other executive orders and bills. News that the president signed the bill was tucked at the bottom of a White House email alerting press to other legislation signed by the president. – NBC News Feb 28, 2017
On top of that…
The House is poised to pass legislation legalizing the use of gun silencers as early as this week, a move that critics say could make it more difficult to identify where gunshots are coming from during a mass shooting like the one that took place in Las Vegas Sunday night. – US News Oct. 2, 2017
There will not be an easy solution to these mass shootings especially since there are so many assault weapons out there.
Coroner reports are from a Huffington Post article.