A semi-automatic rifle designed especially for children: Democratic senators strongly denounced on Thursday January 26 the commercial practices of an American manufacturer of small, light and lethal weapons.
The JR-15, modeled after an assault rifle used in several deadly shootings, is "
absolutely sickening
," condemned Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer.
“Gun Violence Epidemic”
"
The last thing we should be doing is downsizing these weapons of war and marketing them to children
," he said, urging the US Consumer Protection Agency (FTC) to open up an investigation of its manufacturer.
The rifle, which weighs barely a kilo, fires live ammunition well.
Supplied with magazines of 1, 5 or 10 cartridges of 22 caliber long rifle, it had been marketed for the first time last January, at a price of 389 dollars.
The company WEE1 Tactical, which sells this weapon, describes it as "
a piece of American freedom
" intended "
for small-scale enthusiasts
".
On her website, she depicts a young blonde girl, looking through the sight of one of these guns in the snow.
“
Faced with the epidemic of armed violence among young people and shootings
”, a weapon like this “
simply should not exist
” hammered Chuck Schumer.
Read also“To each his own ideal weapon”: in the United States, shooting lessons for children
He took as an example the case of a 6-year-old child who shot and wounded his teacher earlier this month in a school in Virginia.
Shootings are a recurring scourge in the United States where the right to own weapons is guaranteed by the Constitution.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden again urged lawmakers to ban assault rifles as a matter of urgency.
But attempts to regulate their sale are often blocked in the US Congress, where gun lobbies wield strong influence.
WEE1 Tactical did not respond to requests from AFP.