Real semi-automatic rifles for children. This is the promise of the American arms company WEE1 Tactical. Inspired by the AR-15, a model of assault rifle used in several deadly shootouts, the JR-15, which weighs barely a kilo, fires live ammunition well. Supplied with magazines of one, five or ten 22 caliber long rifle cartridges, it was first marketed last January, at a price of 389 dollars.
This practice did not fail to arouse the indignation of part of the American political class. Leader of the Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer, has urged the US Consumer Protection Agency (FTC) to open an investigation into its manufacturer: “The last thing we should be doing is reducing the size of these guns of war and market them to children”. ” [C’est] absolutely disgusting, “said the Democrat.
“A piece of American freedom”
The company WEE1 Tactical, which sells this weapon, describes it as “a piece of American freedom” intended “for amateurs of small stature”. On her website, she depicts a young blond girl, looking through the sight of one of these rifles under the snow.
The company defended the marketing of its weapon, which according to it has “a safety mechanism” present on no other rifle. “Faced with the epidemic of armed violence among young people and shootings”, a weapon like this “simply should not exist” hammered Chuck Schumer. 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.