Authors discuss AR-15’s history from LA garage to cultural lightning rod

The AR-15 has become a political lightning rod in recent decades. The rifle has become a symbol of freedom for some and a symbol of mass carnage for others.

The story of what this gun came to mean, from its origins in a Los Angeles garage to being in the hands of millions of Americans, is the topic of the book, “American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15.”

Wall Street Journal reporters Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson co-wrote the book, which is billed as an exploration of “America’s gun culture” that “[reveals] the deep appeal of the AR-15, the awful havoc it wreaks and the politics of reducing its toll," according to the publishers' synopsis.

McWhirter and Elinson sat down with ABC News to discuss why they decided to write the book after seeing it as the weapon used by many mass shooters.

LINSEY DAVIS: So you've both taken a look at gun culture in this country, as well as covered several mass shootings here as well. What made you decide to look at the AR-15 in particular?

CAMERON McWHIRTER: Well, you hit it right on the head – mass shootings. I'm sure you've covered them. We’ve all – journalists -- have all covered them. They keep happening. And we kept noticing that the AR-15 was a big part, an increasingly big part of these shootings.

These mass shooters were being drawn to this gun and we felt we needed – and everybody started fighting about it. Everybody's arguing about what this gun means.

Is it, like you said, is it freedom or is it something wrong with America's gun culture? That's what everyone's arguing about. And we decided we needed to know the whole history of this gun, and nobody really knew it.

DAVIS: And you write that the origin of this gun is a bit unique.

[From the book:] “As anxiety grew over where the rifle fit in American culture, one unknown gun designer - Eugene Stoner - was convinced the rifle could be modernized to meet the myriad of challenges of the Atomic Age. Working alone in his garage, Stoner believed he was the guy to do it,”

Now, this is a World War II Marine vet who worked on planes, but not guns, in particular. What was his motivation?

ZUSHA ELINSON: That's right. It all began in a Los Angeles garage of a tinkerer named Eugene Stoner. He's a Marine veteran. He's a very gentle guy. He never swore. When he was upset, he would say, “Boy, that frosts me.”

But he was obsessed with engineering challenges. How to make a better gun, how to make a better gun? He would go around scribbling on napkins, on tablecloths. And he had no background. He had no formal training, no college education. And this allowed him to come up with ideas that people had never come up with before.

They had made guns with wood and heavy steel for centuries. He decided, why not aluminum? And so he really revolutionized firearms.

DAVIS: When this gun first appeared on the market, it wasn't as popular with civilians as it is now. What changed?

ELINSON: That's right. So, we went back and we talked to the companies that made AR-15s back in the day, and they were extremely unpopular. We talked to people who would go and show their wares at NRA shows, they would get the middle finger from NRA members.

They didn't like this weapon because it was plastic, because it was made out of aluminum. It didn't represent their sporting tradition, but a lot changed.

The assault weapons ban came into effect in ‘94, and that really politicized the gun and made it a symbol of the Second Amendment. After that, there were a number of political and cultural changes that really made this gun an important symbol for the gun rights’ movement. On top of that, it was very profitable and easy to make, and the market just exploded in the 2000s.

DAVIS: Obviously, there's just been a horrific human toll that we continue to see as a result of the AR-15. Do the people you talk to at least acknowledge that?

ELINSON: That's a great question. One of the things we really wanted to do with this book was to highlight the story of survivors. You know, we, as journalists, we come in for the day, we cover the story, then it fades away. And we really wanted to show what it is like to live with these wounds, these spiritual and physical wounds.

We follow one survivor from the San Bernardino shooting. She's this vivacious, gregarious, stubborn woman who makes great Greek food, and she's shot at her holiday office party in the shoulder and in the pelvis. And suddenly her life is changed by two quick pulls of a trigger. She goes through 60 operations.

She goes through thousands of hours of physical therapy. And so we wanted to share her story as sort of the embodiment of what these bullets due to the human body.

DAVIS: What do you think Eugene Stoner would have made of what's become of the AR-15?

McWHIRTER: This inventor, he created this invention and then lost control of it almost immediately, first to the military, then to the general public. And it became something that he could never have imagined. And we spoke to his family.

They, you know, they have various – people have different views about what he would think. But I keep thinking about the shooting in Highland Park, and it was a little Fourth of July parade, and that is exactly what he created that gun to protect, to defend. He was a very patriotic person and to see that happen on the Fourth of July would have horrified him.

DAVIS: Do you see a time where the AR-15 would actually be banned or we're beyond that?

ELINSON: So back in 1994, there were about 400,000 AR-15-style rifles in the country. Now there are about 20 million. So it looks like they’re here to stay.

And I want to just say right now, the vast majority of people who own ARs are law-abiding citizens. I think what's coming up now is people are looking at more surgical approaches. How do we keep ARs out of the hands of disturbed individuals who would do harm to us?

DAVIS: Gentlemen, thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate you coming on the show. Want to let our viewers know “American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15” is now available wherever books are sold.