KEY POINTS

  • Scott-Dani Pappalardo filmed himself sawing his AR-15 assualt rifle in half.
  • His video has been viewed over 15 million times using the #Oneless hashtag.

Gun owners in the United States are destroying their weapons to protest the deaths of 17 people at a school in Florida last week.

The #Oneless social media campaign is demanding stricter gun laws and has urged others to destroy their guns and rifles to prevent similar mass shootings.

Writer's pick

On Saturday (February 17), licensed gun owner Scott-Dani Pappalardo filmed himself as he destroyed his AR-15 assault rifle by sawing it in half.

Pappalardo says he supports American's rights to bear arms, but says that deadly assault rifles should not be in the hands of citizens and should be reserved for militray forces only.

He wrote in his Facebook post: "My drop in a very large bucket #oneless". His poignant video has since been seen over 15 million times.

He says after Sandy Hook he would have "gladly given up this gun" up if it could have saved the life of just one child.

He said: "And that was five years ago now. And since then over 400 people have been shot in over 200 school shootings, so I guess my words were just empty words in the spur of the moment. And now here we are, 17 more lives lost."

"So when do we change, when do we make laws that say maybe a weapon like this isn't acceptable in today's society?

"Ultimately, it is a gun like this one that take away so many lives. I have decided today, I am going to make sure this weapon will never be able to take a life."

Social media users have praised his anti-gun stance and urged others to follow Pappalardo's lead by destroying weapons of their own.

Nikolas Cruz is accused of killing 14 students and three members of staff during the 14 February shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, near Miami. The incident has started yet another national debate over gun laws in the country.

Cruz is believed to have carried out the shooting using an AR-15 style rifle which he purchased from a gun store earlier this month. Many have questioned how a teenager with history of mental illness could so easily obtain the deadly weapon.

Florida