Why was it so easy for the radical domestic terrorist to obtain an AR-15-style rifle, a weapon designed for military use ("FBI: Orlando nightclub gunman had 'strong indications of radicalization,'" June 13)? The AR-15 is known as a semi-automatic assault rifle which accepts large capacity magazines that allow potential terrorists to quickly fire 60 or 100 bullets without reloading.
Assault weapons should never be allowed for sale to the general public. A Federal Assault Weapons Ban, a subsection of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, was allowed by Congress to expire more than a decade ago.
Congress needs to act now to keep assault weapons out of the hands of potential mass killers like the one who killed nearly 50 people in Orlando or the killer of 20 young elementary school kids in Connecticut in 2012 or last year's San Bernardino killers.
U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin was quoted saying that Congress needs to be "working to ensure guns made solely for the battlefield stay out of the hands of individuals within our borders." Congress needs to protect the people of the United States, not the firearm industry.
Matt Fenton, Baltimore