"AR-15 Inventor Didn't Intend It for Civilians" and other lies
"AR-15 Inventor Didn't Intend It for Civilians" and other lies
Several articles have claimed Eugene Stoner and Jim Sullivan didn't intend the AR-15 for civilians. Here's what they REALLY said in interviews about the design and their intentions.
A few articles were published claiming Eugene Stoner never intended for the rifles based on his patent to be available for civilian sale.
The inventor’s surviving children and adult grandchildren spoke exclusively to NBC News by phone and email… "After many conversations with him, we feel his intent was that he designed it as a military rifle," his family said, explaining that Stoner was "focused on making the most efficient and superior rifle possible for the military."
Stoner’s quoted family members stated that ArmaLite was seeking military sales for the design and that most of the money Eugene Stoner made was from military sales. That is true, ArmaLite and then Colt certainly did seek military sales as they correctly believed they had a superior design that satisfied the then-current military requirements for a new rifle. Ironically, those requirements sought to make a much lighter and less powerful rifle than had previously been the norm for military issue.
ArmaLite sold firearms on the open market and intended military sales as well as commercial, as Stoner states in the video above. Stoner also worked for Colt and Knights Armament. All of the companies Stoner worked for sold firearms based on his designs for 30 years while he was alive, selling to civilians and the military, and he never spoke out about it if he had a problem with it.
Even the quote by Stoner’s family made 20 years after his death doesn’t directly state that he never intended any civilian sales, just that he was keen on securing a military contract. NBC News jumped to the conclusion that seeking military sales somehow meant no civilian sales were ever intended, even though neither Eugene Stoner nor his family ever said that.
Jim Sullivan did technical drawings for the AR-15 and made accessories and add-ons for civilian ARs. Both designers knew well it was going to be a civilian rifle and it was marketed that way before and after the military adopted it. Sullivan also designed the Mini 14 and Mini 30 for Ruger, which has been almost exclusively available on the civilian market.
Jim Sullivan was interviewed and the same claim of “only intended for the military” was made about him. Unlike Stoner, Sullivan was still alive and able to refute comments taken out of context.
Stoner, Sullivan, and others behind the AR-15 all worked to develop civilian versions of it and other similar rifles well before any of them were interviewed by the media for anything regarding gun control. The design has continuously been on the open market since the 1960s.
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