Despicable

By Miss Kubelik

The Washington Post has published a 3D depiction of the destruction an AR-15 can wreak on the human body. The animation compares damage from an AR-15 to that of a handgun, and explains why one is so lethal while the other, if you're lucky, can be survivable. Then it goes on to demonstrate how AR-15s killed two actual victims — one from Sandy Hook, and the other from Parkland.

The Post asked for and received permission from the victims' families to produce the piece. If you view it, the animation is probably the closest you can come to seeing actual police photos from the sites.

"The carnage is rarely visible to the public," the article explains. "Crime scene photos are considered too gruesome to publish and often kept confidential. News accounts rely on antiseptic descriptions from law enforcement officials and medical examiners who, in some cases, have said remains were so unrecognizable that they could be identified only through DNA samples."

When it comes to gun violence, we cats have struggled with the issue of publishing photos of the dead. This Post piece reminds us that if victims' relatives would be willing to let some be seen, it could be a turning point in reining in America's terrible love affair with assault weapons.

Until then, sadly, we'll probably just have to put up with Republicans wearing AR-15 pins — and railing about arming teachers, locking doors and erasing trans people. We cats HISS.