Frederica Freyberg:

What exactly are those guns, the AR-15s? There’s a lot of talk about them but reporter Marisa Wojcik went to a Dane County gun shop to see and hear about them up-close.

Marisa Wojcik:

When Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month, it reignited a debate about gun restrictions. The difference this time, it’s not going away. Cruz murdered 17 people that day using an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.

Brett Fankhauser:

This is the firearm. This is the serial numbered portion.

Marisa Wojcik:

Brett Fankhauser, manager of the Deerfield Pistol and Archery Center, explains the main differences between an AR-15 and a semiautomatic hunting rifle.

Brett Fankhauser:

This gun and a semiautomatic hunting gun are the same thing. It’s strictly aesthetics is the difference. And then the magazine capacity on this one, you could go anywhere from a 5-round magazine to a 100-round magazine.

Marisa Wojcik:

The AR-15 was designed after military-grade guns used for combat. So what do ordinary citizens use this weapon for?

Brett Fankhauser:

Its marksmanship and hunting. Being able to shoot something that is similar to what the military uses. They always have the coolest toys, so to speak, right? This is as close as we can get to them. Expandable.

Marisa Wojcik:

That selling point is a huge sales driver for gun enthusiasts. But there’s another actor that impacts gun sales for the shop’s owner, Scott Whiting.

Scott Whiting:

We had a little bit of a lull when Trump took office. I think there wasn’t the demand or the pressure on the gun issue at that time.

Marisa Wojcik:

For Whiting, upholding the second amendment is essential, but not the end of the conversation.

Scott Whiting:

You know, I agree that everybody should have their second amendment rights. On the other hand, obviously there are people out there that probably shouldn’t have access to firearms or we need to do a better job of making sure that we’re intervening before an incident occurs.

Frederica Freyberg:

That was Marisa Wojcik reporting.