This is in regards to the letter, “Not an assault weapon at all” (Aug. 11). The author mocks a previous letter writer’s estimate of the damage AR-15 rounds would inflict on a deer by claiming inadequate .22 bullet size (i.e. caliber or diameter). Damage done by a bullet is due to kinetic energy that equals one half the mass of the round multiplied by the square of its velocity. If caliber alone mattered a beach ball would hurt you more than a cannonball. It is the very high velocity generated by the AR-15 that makes its rounds so destructive. Do an internet search for AR-15 exit wounds for evidence of what these rounds would do to a deer. 

He argues that AR-15s aren’t assault weapons if they don’t fire full auto. When set on semi-auto they can be fired as fast as you can bend your forefinger. There are 30 rounds in a standard magazine. I can bend my arthritic forefinger 30 times in about 6 seconds. A high-capacity magazine of 100 rounds would take a little longer. Still not enough assault for you? 

He repeats the addressing mental health (instead) argument. Why do commonsense gun laws and mental health efforts have to be seen as a binary choices? 

Keith Tomlinson

Stonington