Congresswoman claims AR-15s that she wants to regulate fire .50cal rounds: wrong

By al, September 24, 2019

The NRA and other pro-gun voices are shaking their heads at a Congresswoman who says she held an AR-15 in her hands and says it weighed as much as four moving boxes. Texas Democratic Congresswomen Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee says the AR-15 fires .50 caliber rounds.

Both statements are profoundly wrong, which is remarkable because the congresswoman is a sponsor of legislation to require new restrictions on AR-15 rounds.

The AR-15 usually fires .223 rounds (but some can be modified to shoot “blackout rounds” that are larger.) But in the photo at the top of this page you will see a .50 caliber round on the right and an AR-15 round on the left.  The AR-15 is not a heavy weapon, in fact that is one of the attractions of the rifle, that it is light and has little recoil.