The army has begun to replace its M-4 rifle, which is basically the same as the M-16 and the AR-15, the last of which has all too often been used in these recurring mass shootings, including those in Odessa, in Uvalde, and at the Chicago Independence Day parade. It has awarded a contract to a company to produce thousands of its newly-designed, high-tech XM5 rifles along with new ammunition. The reason for the change is to increase the lethality of our infantry weapons by giving our soldiers a more reliable rifle with longer range, greater ability to penetrate body armor, an advanced sight system complete with lasers, and a sound suppressor. The new bullet will be much heavier and will have much more energy.
The company is working on a version of the rifle to sell in the civilian market.
Many of those shot in assault weapon attacks have been only wounded. The AR-15 uses a weak cartridge that in the civilian world is properly used only on game the size of rabbits. As we have seen in attacks on schools in Newtown and Uvalde, though, it is very good for murdering small children. With these new weapons, we can expect that more of those hit will die, that cover and distance will provide less protection, and that police body armor will be ineffectual.
It may be of interest to note that Ronald Reagan, conservative icon and lifetime NRA member, worked not only for the Brady Bill but also for the 1994 bill to stop the sale of assault weapons. Two U.S. representatives, Scott Klug and Dick Swett, publicly credited Reagan with persuading them to vote in favor of the AW bill, which passed the House 216–214. That bill was enacted into law. It is disheartening to think of the assault weapon attacks that would not have occurred and the lives that would not have been ended had we not let that law expire.
The last thing we need is for crazies, evil people, soldier wannabes, and duffers to get their hands on “cool” new assault weapons that are even deadlier than what is common now. Such people will always exist, even if we make the serious changes needed in society to strengthen families, improve moral codes, and instill in individuals a sense of honor and decency that is almost nonexistent now. We must tell our representatives to stop the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines before the problems with them, already horrendous, get even worse.
Randy Flowe
Andrews
