Washington Post: “States reeling from gun violence made graphic imagery confidential — part of a charged debate over privacy and public awareness. States have increasingly restricted records showing the impact of gun violence.

• How? Some have used or created exemptions to public records laws to withhold crime scene evidence, such as photos of mutilated bodies or audio recordings of children’s cries.
• Why it matters: Some advocates argue that concealing such material prevents the public from fully understanding the destructive force of weapons such as the AR-15.
• A warning: The photos, videos and personal accounts published here are extremely disturbing.”

See also Alta – Bang Bang Shoot Shoot. “American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15, by Wall Street Journal reporters Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson, offers a history of Stoner’s invention and its often hellish impact. In fact, because the AR-15 plays a role in so many aspects of American life, this is, rather, a host of histories. It’s a tale of good old-fashioned, California-bred, garage-centered innovation in the tradition of Hewlett-Packard and Apple. (Stoner perfected the rifle while working for ArmaLite, a firearms firm headquartered in Hollywood, near the Paramount lot.) It’s a military story: in the 1960s, the AR-15 became the M16, the U.S. Army’s standard rifle, much to the chagrin of soldiers in Vietnam who found it unreliable. It’s a chronicle of public policy: the AR-15 has been at the center of multiple congressional debates, beginning with the M16’s malfunctions in Vietnam and continuing through to the 1994 assault-weapons ban and the half measures and stonewalling since then. And, of course, it’s a business story: small manufacturers and hedge funds have profited off people who’ve feared the faintest whiff of gun legislation, with total sales of the AR-15 reaching 20 million in 2023.”