A recent letter discussed the dangerous capabilities of the AR-15, dubbed by many a “weapon of war” designed to maim and kill. The absurdity of this claim is apparent to anyone who has spent time with and owns this platform of rifle. From flintlocks in the 1800s to revolvers in the 1900’s and AR-15s in the 2000s, firearms have always been tools; ones that can be used for many things. Much as a hammer can be used to drive nails into wood, an AR-15 can be used for many productive tasks and is not simply a killing machine — even though it can be used as such.

Like many tools, all guns are deadly in the right hands. This is precisely why more responsibly armed good Samaritans are something we should all want. I know and trust my community to handle firearms and use them to protect each other. If you want evidence of this happening in similar places, look up the Greenwood Park Mall shooting or the recent incident at the Renaissance Circle apartments in Charleston — both cases involve responsibly armed citizens who used the Second Amendment to stop mass shooters. Ironically, both perpetrators in these cases brought an AR-15 to gun down innocent people but were stopped by civilians with handguns.

Obviously, AR-15s are only as effective as those who wield them and become less deadly to potential mass shooters against a responsible and well-armed populace. Consider the countless other defensive uses of firearms each year, and we would do well to remember that our fellow civilians are the first line of defense against threats to the community and should have the best tools to do the job, including handguns and AR-15s. This is especially true considering criminals aren’t looking to follow gun prohibition laws anyway and will probably have the tools they want to enact their destructive delusions.