BERMUDA DUNES, CA (KMIR/CNN) – A California gun enthusiast recently took a sledgehammer to one of his most prized possessions – his AR-15.
Chad Vachter said he started having doubts about owning the weapon after the 2015 San Bernardino, CA, terror attack left 14 people dead.
It happened at the Inland Regional Center, where Vachter’s autistic son receives treatment. He said the last straw was the shooting in Northern California last week.
Five people were killed and 12 injured.
Vachter said he still supports the Second Amendment and will keep his shotgun and pistol.
After smashing the AR-15 to pieces with a sledgehammer, Vachter said it felt like a weight had been lifted.
"I can't do it." Vachter said. "I can't have something in my house that so easily could become another part of a situation like that and I'm not going to be desensitized to it, I refuse to. When I read the thing about the school in Northern California, I cried and I haven't felt good since. And although I'm still sad for all the people and all the victims affected, I feel like I've done the only thing that I can do in this equation. Even if it's just a small thing, I did my part to make things better."
Vachter hopes his message will resonate with other gun owners, inspiring them to destroy their assault weapons, using the hashtag #notwiththisgun.
Copyright KMIR via CNN. All rights reserved.
