OPINION:
The assault weapon is beloved by millions of Americans due to its numerous convenient features, including a lightweight, mild recoil, quick and easy reloading and semi-automatic firing rate (“Why firearm fans love the AR-15 as much as the gun control crowd hates it,” Web, June 13). So why do millions of Americans want to outlaw it? The answer lies more in psychology than in gun features or murder rates.
In my book, “Truths Written In Blood: Why Conservatives Should Support Gun-Market Reforms,” I make the case that any method of intimidation or attack that produces an especially virulent and generalized fear in the public is by definition an act of terrorism. The damage produced by such attacks goes beyond physical harm, instilling fear, causing emotional distress and disrupting society.
Because of the terroristic effects produced by the continued assault-weapon attacks on some of our nation’s most vulnerable public spaces, including schools, it is entirely legitimate for us to restrict the availability of assault weapons even if their homicidal usage is statistically rare.
ZEPHYR DORSEY
Iowa City, Iowa
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