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An '''AR-15 style rifle''' is a lightweight [[semi-automatic rifle|semi-automatic]] [[rifle]] based on the [[Colt AR-15]] design. After Colt's [[patent]]s expired in 1977,<ref name=Zimba>{{cite book|title=The Evolution of the Black Rifle: 20 Years of Upgrades, Options, and Accessories|author=Jeff Zimba|url=https://books.google.com/?id=bCFjCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT10&dq=The+Evolution+of+the+Black+Rifle+By+Jeff+Zimba#v=onepage&q=The%20Evolution%20of%20the%20Black%20Rifle%20By%20Jeff%20Zimba&f=false|isbn=9780692317266|date=2014-11-26}}</ref> an expanded marketplace emerged with many manufacturers producing their own version of the AR-15 design for commercial sale. They are referred to as '''modern sporting rifles''' by the [[National Shooting Sports Foundation]], a firearms industry trade association, and by some manufacturers.<ref name=facts>{{cite web|title=Modern Sporting Rifle Facts|url=http://www.nssf.org/msr/facts.cfm|publisher=[[National Shooting Sports Foundation]]|year=2013|accessdate=21 August 2013|quote=}}</ref> Coverage of high-profile incidents where various versions of the rifle were involved often uses the shorthand ''AR-15''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-year-in-nine-objects|title=The Year in Nine Objects|last=Walker|first=Rob|date=2016-12-30|work=The New Yorker|access-date=2018-03-12|language=en|issn=0028-792X}}</ref>
Since 2010, AR-15 style rifles have become one of the "most beloved and most vilified rifles" in the United States according to the ''[[New York Times]]''
The [[Federal Assault Weapons Ban]] restricted the Colt AR-15 and derivatives from 1994-2004, although it did not affect rifles with fewer features.<ref name=Plummer>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/12/17/everything-you-need-to-know-about-banning-assault-weapons-in-one-post/|title=Everything you need to know about the assault weapons ban, in one post|last=Plumer|first=Brad|date=2012-12-17|work=Washington Post|access-date=2018-02-26|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/guns-like-the-ar-15-were-never-fully-banned/|title=Guns Like The AR-15 Were Never Fully Banned|date=2016-06-14|work=FiveThirtyEight|access-date=2018-02-26|language=en-US}}</ref> There are an estimated 10-12 million in circulation in the United States.<ref name="NYT 13 June 2016" /> ==Terminology==
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==Use in crime and mass shootings==
While most gun killings in the United States are with [[handgun]]s,<ref name="CBS_2/16/2018">{{cite news |author= |date=February 16, 2018 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/in-many-u-s-states-18-is-old-enough-to-buy-a-semiautomatic/ |title=In Many U.S. States, 18 Is Old Enough to Buy a Semiautomatic |website=CBS News |agency=The Associated Press |quote=On average, more than 13,000 people are killed each year in the United States by guns, and most of those incidents involve handguns while a tiny fraction involve an AR-style firearm. Still, the AR plays an oversized role in many of the most high-profile shootings... |access-date=February 19, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-4.xls|title=Expanded Homicide Data Table 4|work=2016 Crime in the United States|publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation|access-date=2018-02-26|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vTkTTIF1IpUC&pg=PT147|title=Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces|last=Balko|first=Radley|date=2013-07-09|publisher=PublicAffairs|isbn=9781610392129|language=en}}</ref> AR-15 style rifles have played "an oversized role in many of the most high-profile"<ref name="CBS_2/16/2018"/> [[mass shootings in the United States]], and have come to be widely characterized as the weapon of choice for perpetrators of these crimes.<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[CNN]] |title=Why the AR-15 is the mass shooter's go-to weapon |first=Aaron |last=Smith |date=June 21, 2016 |accessdate=February 15, 2018 |url=http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/13/news/ar-15-assault-rifle/index.html |quote=The AR-15, the type of rifle used in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, is the weapon of choice for mass killers.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Aimee |last=Picchi |date=June 15, 2016 |title=America's rifle: The marketing of assault-style weapons |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/orlando-shooting-ar15-rifles-omar-mateen/ |publisher=[[CBS News]] |work=[[CBS MoneyWatch]] |accessdate=February 23, 2018 |quote=America has grown accustomed to military-style semi-automatic weapons such as the AR-15. It's not hard to see why: These firearms have been heavily marketed to gun owners. But at the same time, they're often the weapons of choice for mass murderers.}}</ref><ref name=wired20160617>{{cite news |first=Sarah |last=Zhang |title=What an AR-15 Can Do to the Human Body |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=June 17, 2016 |accessdate=March 3, 2018 |url=https://www.wired.com/2016/06/ar-15-can-human-body/ | quote=The AR-15 is America’s most popular rifle. It has also been the weapon of choice in mass shootings from Sandy Hook to Aurora to San Bernardino. }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |magazine=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |title=How the AR-15 Became One of the Most Popular Guns in America, A brief history of the guns that have become the weapons of choice for mass shootings |first=Joseph P. |last=Williams |date=November 7, 2017 |accessdate=February 15, 2018 |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-11-07/how-the-ar-15-assault-rifle-became-one-of-the-most-popular-guns-in-america |quote=They're lightweight, relatively cheap and extremely lethal, inspired by Nazi infantrymen on the Eastern Front during World War II. They're so user-friendly some retailers recommend them for children, yet their design is so aggressive one marketer compared them to carrying a "man card" -- although ladies who dare can get theirs in pink. And if the last few mass shootings are any indication, guns modeled after the AR-15 assault rifle -- arguably the most popular, most enduring and most profitable firearm in the U.S. -- have become the weapon of choice for unstable, homicidal men who want to kill a lot of people very, very quickly.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Why mass shooters are increasingly using AR-15s |first1=Bart |last1=Jansen |first2=William |last2=Cummings |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=November 6, 2017 |accessdate=February 15, 2018 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/11/06/ar-15-style-rifles-common-among-mass-shootings/838283001/ |quote=AR-15 style rifles have been the weapon of choice in many recent mass shootings, including the Texas church shooting Sunday, the Las Vegas concert last month, the Orlando nightclub last year and Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.}}</ref><ref name=nyt20180215>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |authorlink=Richard A. Oppel Jr. |first=Richard A. |last=Oppel Jr. |accessdate=February 15, 2018 |date=February 15, 2018 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/us/ar15-mass-shootings-guns.html |title=In Florida, an AR-15 Is Easier to Buy Than a Handgun |quote=The N.R.A. calls the AR-15 the most popular rifle in America. The carnage in Florida on Wednesday that left at least 17 dead seemed to confirm that the rifle and its variants have also become the weapons of choice for mass killers.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Why AR-15-style rifles are popular among mass shooters |first=Whitney |last=Lloyd |date=February 16, 2018 |accessdate=March 2, 2018 |url=http://abcnews.go.com/US/ar-15-style-rifles-popular-mass-shooters/story?id=53111745 |agency=[[ABC News]] |quote=AR-15-style rifles have become something of a weapon of choice for mass shooters.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Lois |last=Beckett |date=February 16, 2018 |accessdate=March 2, 2018 |title=Most Americans can buy an AR-15 rifle before they can buy beer |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/16/americans-age-to-buy-ar15-assault-rifle-mass-shootings |quote=While AR-15 style rifles have become the weapon of choice for some of America’s most recent and deadly mass shootings, these military-style guns are still comparatively rarely used in everyday gun violence.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Max |last=Samis |date=April 22, 2018 |accessdate=May 4, 2018 |title=Brady Campaign Responds to Developments in Nashville Waffle House Shooting|newspaper=[[Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence]] |url=http://www.bradycampaign.org/brady-responds-to-developments-in-nashville-waffle-house-shooting |quote=Kris Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, stated, 'It adds insult to the literal injuries and loss of life suffered by today's victims that even though the killer was known to be too dangerous to have guns, his father chose to rearm him including, reportedly, with the AR-15 used this morning, a weapon of war that now happens to be the weapon of choice in far too many mass killings in America.'}}</ref> AR-15 variants
Following the use of a [[Colt AR-15]] rifle in the [[Port Arthur massacre (Australia)|Port Arthur massacre]], the worst [[Mass shooting|single-person shooting incident]] in Australian history, the country enacted the ''[[National Firearms Agreement|National Firearms Programme Implementation Act 1996]]'', restricting the private ownership of [[semi-automatic rifle]]s with a capacity of more than 5 rounds ([[Gun laws in Australia#Firearms categories|Category D]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/assault-guns-made-here-20130123-2d7jx.html|title=Assault guns made here|last=Oakes|first=Dan|date=2013-01-23|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en|access-date=2018-02-26}}</ref>).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/0708/FirearmsAustralia |title=Firearms in Australia: a guide to electronic resources |date=9 August 2007 |website=aph.gov.au |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |access-date=4 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/australia/2017-10-13/how-australia-passed-gun-control |title=How Australia Passed Gun Control: The Port Arthur Massacre and Beyond |date=October 13, 2017 |website=[[Foreign Affairs]] |publisher= |access-date=18 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/15/it-took-one-massacre-how-australia-made-gun-control-happen-after-port-arthur|title=It took one massacre: how Australia embraced gun control after Port Arthur|first= Calla |last1=Wahlquist |date=14 March 2016 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>
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