I think at a point up this thread, the discussion was happening in terms of defence against the government (in the context of the HK protests). Arguably, you do need an AR-15 in those cases - or even something with more firepower.

> Yes you don't need AR-15 for basic protection.

What about any of the other rifles that fire the same exact cartridge but are not AR-15's? .223REM/5.56x45mm NATO, .308WIN/7.62x51mm NATO, etc... There's no talk about banning certain cartridges.

Are we just talking about banning a specific shape of a rifle? Why?

Do the people talking about confiscations and bans even understand these things?

Except from zombie hordes.