Matt Ford of The New Republic recently argued that AR-15 style rifles stay uncommon even as many Americans buy them. A survey this month found that 30 percent of firearm owners hold such a rifle or a similar model, equal to 26.4 million people in a country of 340 million.

Ford wrote that fewer than one third of owners possess one, that the rifles serve poorly for home defense compared with handguns, and that 74 percent of buyers cited possible collapse of public order. The source author replied that lawful activities also include target practice, competitions, and hunting, and noted that 26.4 million rifles exceed the 16 million Ford F-Series trucks now on American roads.