I have a few comments regarding Larry Melansons letter concerning the AR-15 (Monitor letters, June 21).
Many years ago, when I was a member of the 368th Engineer Battalion Reserve Unit here in Concord, we used to go out on the “range,” a gravel pit in the area.
We fired the 30-caliber Army carbine, not the M-1 rifle. As I recall, this weapon, developed for jungle use in the Pacific, was used primarily on semi-automatic, but it also had, I think, a switch to fully automatic, if so desired. My question is, does the AR-15 use 30-caliber or smaller?
I have always believed that a gun that fired 30-caliber bullets on “auto” would use up ammo at an unacceptable rate, so the fully automatic switch was used less often because of that problem. Perhaps not so.
I also have a comment. Because of my age, I recall that the old Dick Tracy comic strip always had Tracy using his “automatic,” which in fact was a typical pistol capable of shooting one round with each pull of the trigger. I suggest that some of the confusion today is that many readers believed that the pistol was really “fully” automatic and that usage has continued right up to the present.
I also agree with Larry that we need to sit down, both sides, and discuss/argue until we have a satisfactory solution to the mass shootings happening too often today.
When the Second Amendment was passed, I don’t believe it was meant to allow ordinary citizens to easily shoot to death large numbers of fellow members of society.
STEVE LEAVENWORTH
Concord