When Scott Pappalardo filmed himself sawing his AR-15 in half, he didn’t know that the video would become a viral sensation. Sitting in a chair on his back porch, gun across his lap, Pappalardo explains his decision to destroy the weapon rather than sell it:
“In the back of my head I say, what if whoever buys this weapon, their child gets a hold of it, and brings it to a school one day, and shoots a bunch of people, can I live with that? I don’t think I could. So, I’ve decided today I’m gonna make sure that this weapon will never be able to take a life.”
Pappalardo acted out of well-meaning concern for safety. However, the way he cut the AR-15 actually created a weapon that is less safe than the original gun. The sawed gun could still fire, and its barrel now falls short of the federal 16” requirement for long gun barrels.
Popular Mechanics explains why people shouldn’t emulate Pappalardo’s sawing method: “Technically, he had just committed a felony under the federal National Firearms Act. NFA violations carry penalties of up to 10 years in federal prison and fines of up to $250,000.”
The video shows Pappalardo committing a crime, creating an illegal firearm, and doing it all with the best of intentions. He was trying to be a good gun owner, as he had been for decades: He had owned the AR-15 for more than 30 years, and always had it legally registered under his name. This man is no anti-gun crusader. He says, “I’m a firm believer in the Second Amendment. I even got it tattooed on my arm.” Unfortunately, someone could still put the pieces of his gun back together and recreate the same killing machine he wanted to get rid of in the first place.
If you find yourself in a situation like Pappalardo — with a gun you own, and would like to destroy — there are safer methods to accomplish that goal. You can have the gun melted down into its component metals, for one. You could also turn it in to your local police department for destruction (though you absolutely must call the department ahead of time — showing up at a police station, unannounced, with a firearm, is a recipe for disaster). And if you’re absolutely intent on cutting the gun apart, you must do so with a cutting torch (not a saw) and according to ATF specifications.
At the end of his video, Pappalardo says, “Now people have always said there’s so many of them (guns) out there, and now, there’s one less.” People seeking to emulate this can follow the inspiration, but not the same tactic.
Angela Morabito (@AngelaLMorabito) writes about politics, media, ethics, and culture. She holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Georgetown University.
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