Gov. Greg Abbott is fine with 18-year-olds buying AR-15s over the counter in Texas without even a background check. Rep. Ken Buck (R–CO) thinks he needs an AR-15 to protect his chickens. And Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) refers to AR-15s as a mere "sporting rifle" used to "shoot prairie dogs and, you know, other types of varmints."
But retired U.S. Army Major General Paul Eaton, who served in the Army for 33 years and trained Iraqi troops in 2003, knows otherwise. (Those in congress, by the way, know otherwise as well.) He stated on CNN that an AR-15 is a "weapon of war. Period."
"The AR-15 and the M4 carbine are almost exactly the same weapon… They are devastating," Eaton said. "The AR-15 in the hands of a modestly trained or even novice, as we have seen, can be a horrific weapon."
And to sum it up: "The round is a weapon of war. The rifle is a weapon of war. Period."
