AR-15: What is it and how does it work?

As the national debate on terrorism and gun control rages, one kind of gun in particular has been focused on since the Orlando shooting: the AR-15.

So what is it, and why would someone want to buy one?

Since the AR-15 (short for Armalite Rifle) can be modified with accessories, gun enthusiasts often describe it as “Legos for adults” or “Barbies for men.”

The accessories allow gun owners to modify their rifle to make it unique and more suited to different roles.

Some companies manufacture variants of the AR-15, ranging in price from several hundred to several thousand dollars.

By law, civilians are only allowed to purchase semi-automatic AR-15 rifles, meaning you have to pull the trigger for every round you want to fire. The AR-15 is not an automatic weapon.

Richard Garcia, director of training at Sportsman’s Elite, compared an AR-15 and a Ruger hunting rifle with scope.

“This guy with the wood stock, this guy with the plastic stock – every time you pull the trigger, it fires one bullet,” Garcia said, “That’s it. You can’t just hold the trigger down and (unload the entire) magazine.”

Garcia explained, that operationally, the AR-15 and the Ruger are the same. Looks can be deceiving though.

“Because of the way they look – this (AR-15) looks scary – all of the sudden we’re trying to ban something like this when in all honesty, (the Ruger) is a lot more dangerous of a firearm than this one right here.”