LETTER:Don’t blame AR-15s

In the Speaking Out section (PDN, Aug. 6) two people made the same mistake.

They both call the AR-15 an automatic weapon.

It is illegal to own an automatic rifle in Washington state without a class 3 Federal Firearms License.

The AR-15 is a modern semi-automatic rifle.

The Clinton administration banned AR-15s and it made very little difference in shooting statistics.

There are 13 times more shootings with handguns then with rifles, according to a June 2023 article in American Rifleman.

When there is a shooting in Seattle or Tacoma it always makes the news.

I’d like to now how many deaths were caused by fentanyl during the same period.

According to Cal Thomas (PDN, Aug. 3) there were 106,699 deaths caused by synthetic opioids in the U.S. during 2021.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving states that more than 13,000 people are killed by drunk drivers each year.

Quit blaming the owners of legal AR-15s for all the deaths that occur daily.

Phillip H. Sharpe

Forks