Scarborough: AR-15 “More Lethal than M16”

Joe Scarborough often touts his deep roots in the gun culture, growing up in the South. But either he never knew as much about guns as he’s claimed, or his passion for gun control has made him forget or ignore what he once knew.

On today’s Morning Joe, Scarborough repeatedly claimed that the AR-15, used in Parkland and in other mass shootings, is “more lethal” than the M16. H/t SnuffaBolshevik.

I’m just a born-in-the-Bronx Finkelstein who grew up entirely outside the gun culture. I’m counting on my readers to make the case better than I can.

But even I know the difference between an AR-15 and an M-16. The AR as available for sale in the US is a semi-automatic weapon. To fire, the trigger must be pulled each time. It is no different in that regard from the average deer rifle. In contrast, the M-16 can be placed in fully-automatic mode, in which it will continue to fire so long as the trigger is depressed. In that mode, it can fire 700–950 rounds per minute.

It’s true that a bump stock can give a semi-automatic some of the characteristics of an automatic. But for Scarborough to claim that the AR-15 is “more lethal” than a military M-16 is journalistic malpractice. Was Joe trying to mislead his audience in order to make the case for more gun control?