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AR-15 Stands For

AR-15 Stands For

Part of a series on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting. [View Related Entries]

Updated Mar 02, 2018 at 11:46AM EST by Brad.

Added Mar 01, 2018 at 11:00AM EST by Adam.

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About

"AR-15 Stands For" refers to a snowclone parodying pro-gun advocates following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting who corrected those that believed the "AR" in AR 15 stands for "Assault Rifle" when in fact it stands for "ArmaLite rifle." In parodies, people claim various absurd things "AR" could stand for.

Origin

Discussions about banning the AR-15 grew prevalent after its use in several mass shootings, leading to a misconception that "AR" stood for "assault rifle." Pro-gun advocates on Twitter corrected the misnomer by stating it stands for "Armalite," the company that manufactured the gun. The increased discussion of the weapon after the February 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting, in which the killer used an AR-15, saw further misnaming of the weapon, and in turn, increased corrections from pro-gun advocates. Many of these advocates made the point that people who don't know the correct name of the gun should not be attempting to regulate it (example shown below, left). This type of argument led CNN anchor Chris Cuomo to opine that gun control advocates cared more about correctly identifying the weapon than the ease with which it can be purchased[1] (shown below, right)


Brandon @Brandawn69 Follow HOLD THE F--- ON... do people think the "AR" in "AR-15" stands for "assault rifle" AAAAAAAHHAHAHA. I keep seeing tweets with 100k RTs saying "BAN ASSAULT RIFLES PLZ" bro assault rifles are banned, its illegal (in almost every state) to own any automatic machine gun 7:38 PM-15 Feb 2018 Christopher C. Cuomo @ChrisCuomo Follow At least 16 dead in #Broward #schoolshooting. Weapon: the ubiquitous AR-15. Gun advocates will get upset if you don't know what the initials stand for but not that they are so easy to get. 7:14 PM-14 Feb 2018

Spread

As these types of tweets became more prevalent, parody versions started to emerge. A popular parody tweeted by @BuckyIsotope[2] suggested that AR stood for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who "invented the gun in 1937." The tweet gained over 990 retweets and 5,000 likes (shown below, left). Twitter user @maltyhops tweeted a sarcastic reassurance that "AR" stands for "assault rifle," gaining over 160 retweets and 500 likes (shown below, right).


Bucky Isotope Followv @Buckylsotope The "AR" in AR-15 doesn't stand for "assault rifle” idiots it stands for Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers who also invented it in 1937 11:45 PM - 18 Feb 2018 TRILLIONAIRE $ @maltyhops Follow AR-15 stands for "assault rifle" retweet if you agree 2:31 PM -25 Feb 2018

The jokes saw renewed prevalence after Tomi Lahren repeated the pro-gun advocate talking point on February 28th, 2018[3] (shown below, left). This prompted a surge in parodies the following day. For example, a joke by Rob Delaney gained over 340 retweets and 2,700 likes in less than an hour (shown below, right).


Tomi Lahren Φ @TomiLahren Follow Hey Lefties, "AR" does NOT stand for "assault rifle." It stands for "ArmaLite rifle." You want to take our guns but you don't know jack about guns. See the problem? 8:24 PM-28 Feb 2018 rob delaney @robdelaney Follow (C The "AR" in AR-15 doesn't stand for "assault rifle." It stands for "Adorable Rodent" & celebrates Mickey Mouse & Disney World, where I honeymooned with my wife, whom is a fleshlight i duct taped to a bump stock 13 11:47 AM-1 Mar 2018

Various Examples


Simon Maloy @SimonMaloy Follow sorry you dumb libs, but the AR in AR-15 stands for "a revolver," the type of gun it is and the 15 is a misprint; it was supposed to be 51 in honor of the Guam statehood movement, but six guns had already been made when they caught the typo so there was nothing they could do 10:27 AM-1 Mar 2018 ilMenaker Following @willmenaker Get your facts straight. The "AR" in AR-15 doesn't stand for "assault rifle." It stands for "ass reamer" because this military grade automatic machine gun will definitely f--- your s--- up 1:40 AM-1 Mar 2018 Riverdale DSA . Follow ) 、 @PraxisKenzie Replying to@YatPundit You're both wrong actually, it stands for "Atheism Rifle," because Hitler invented both the AR-15 and the religion of atheism. Pretty embarrassing you didn't know this. 10:49 AM-1 Mar 2018 NICE MOUSE mustard @nice_mustard Follow the "AR" in AR-15 actually stands for "ASS RAGE", you f------ peasants. you perfect idiots. you rageless, assless buffoons 9:51 AM-1 Mar 2018 Parker Molloy @ParkerMolloy Follow Not sure if you knew this, but the "AR" in AR-15 actually stands for "Al Roker." GIF 1:33 AM-1 Mar 2018 reallysmallfish @expiredfish Follow AR-15 stands for "Armadillo Rifle-15." It was designed by a Texas company to assist in the Armadillo wars. It takes an average of 15 shots to kill the average armadillo warrior. We will not stop until every armadillo is dead. GIF www.JJ.AM

Search Interest

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External References

[1] Twitter – @ChrisCuomo

[2] Twitter – @BuckyIsotope

[3] Twitter – TomiLahren

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Top Comments

Nedhitis
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Nedhitis

…"retweet if you agree"..? I do not think that is how semantics and definitions work. Like, it is not a subjective statement that you can agree or disagree with. There is just one correct answer for that context. That is like saying "'KYM' stands Kim Jong's Mom, upvote if you agree".

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