University of Florida’s Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson introduced he’ll now not use the nickname “AR-15” and can change his attire line’s branding as a result of of the rifle’s use in bloodshed throughout the U.S.
Richardson, a sophomore from Gainesville, Florida, stated Sunday the nickname mixed his initials and his jersey quantity, however now he’ll merely go by “AR” or his full title.
“It is important to me that my name and brand are no longer associated with the assault rifle that has been used in mass shootings, which I do not condone in any way or form,” he stated in a press release on social media.
He additionally runs an attire line with a emblem that featured a scope reticle as half of his branding.
“My representatives and I are currently working on rebranding, which includes the creation of a new logo and transitioning to simply using AR and my name, Anthony Richardson,” he stated.
The choice comes after a number of high-profile massacres which have claimed dozens of lives, with shooters usually wielding the semi-automatic rifle or its clones.
The AR-15 has turn out to be a controversial image within the nationwide debate over gun violence and gun rights. Both Armalite, the corporate that first made the AR-15, and the household of its late creator, Eugene Stoner, have stated the weapon was developed and meant for warfare.
In the May 24 bloodbath at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 youngsters and two lecturers useless, the shooter used an AR-15 fashion weapon. In the July Fourth parade assault in Highland Park, Illinois, the gunman used a high-powered rifle that dispersed, “high-velocity rounds similar to an AR-15,” Chris Covelli, spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, stated.
On Sunday, a suspected gunman carried two AR-style rifles, a pistol and greater than 100 rounds of ammo when he opened hearth inside Greenwood Park Mall, outdoors Indianapolis, Indiana, killing three and injuring two, authorities stated.
2022 has been a bloody 12 months with 354 mass shootings recorded within the U.S. as of Monday thus far, in line with a depend by the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass capturing as 4 or extra shot or killed, not together with the shooter.
In the wake of the Uvalde tragedy, President Joe Biden called on Congress to reinstate the federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004, stating that after the ban ended and “those weapons were allowed to be sold again, mass shootings tripled.”