On Saturday, Scott Pappalardo posted a video on Facebook showing him cutting up his AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and calling for stricter gun laws in the US.

The AR-15 is the same weapon authorities say suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz used in the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday.

"I'm going to make sure this weapon will never be able to take a life," Pappalardo says in the video.

Pappalardo said in another Facebook post that he believes in people's "right to keep and bear arms" but also believes that "there needs to be much tougher gun laws."

Since Pappalardo's video went viral, other legal gun owners have posted similar videos or photos of themselves destroying their weapons.



A legal gun owner is going viral for destroying his AR-15 in the wake of the recent mass shooting that claimed the lives of 17 people in Parkland, Florida.

On Saturday, Scott Pappalardo posted a six-minute video on his Facebook page. In the clip, Pappalardo can be seen holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, the same weapon authorities say suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz used in the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday.

In the video, Pappalardo introduces himself as a "firm believer in the Second Amendment" who bought his "legally registered" AR-15 30 years ago. "I'll be honest," he continues. "It's a lot of fun to shoot. I'm not a hunter. I've never killed anything with [my AR-15], except a bunch of targets."

Pappalardo then recalls how he told his wife in 2012 that he would "gladly" give his AR-15 rifle up "if it would save the life of just one child" following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which left 20 children and six adults dead.

"Since then, over 400 people have been shot in over 200 school shootings," Pappalardo says in the video, calling his conversation with his wife "just empty words in the spur of the moment."

(According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 239 gun-related incidents at schools in the US since the tragic events at Sandy Hook. In those shootings alone, a total of 438 people were shot, 138 of whom were killed.)

But after the shooting at Stoneman Douglas, Pappalardo is publicly calling for change. "When do we make laws that say, 'Maybe a weapon like this isn't acceptable in today's society?'" he asks in the video. "Ultimately, it's a gun like this one that takes away lives," Pappalardo says, gesturing to his AR-15 rifle.

Although he can legally sell his weapon, Pappalardo says in the video he cannot live with the possibility that someone could use his AR-15 to commit a "horrific act."

"So, I've decided today, I'm going to make sure this weapon will never be able to take a life," he concludes. "The barrel of this gun will never be pointed at someone. I mean think about it: Is the right to own this weapon more important than someone's life?"

Pappalardo before (left) and after destroying his AR-15 rifle. Scott Pappalardo/Facebook

Pappalardo then cuts up his AR-15 rifle into several pieces using what appears to be an electric saw. "Now people have always said, 'There's so many of [these weapons] out there," Pappalardo says after he is done destroying his rifle. "Well, now, there's one less."

"I'm not saying this is for everyone," Pappalardo adds, emphasizing that his action is a "personal choice." He continues: "This isn't the answer to solve all the problems. [...] No one thing is going to change it. And there will always be people who want to kill and will do it, one way or another. But they're not going to do it with this gun. And I'm hoping maybe someone will see [this video] and say, maybe I'll do the same thing."

On Facebook, Pappalardo captioned his post, "My drop in a very large bucket" along with the hashtag #OneLess (as in one fewer gun). Pappalardo's viral video had over 18 million views by Tuesday evening.

On Sunday, the legal gun owner shared a few more thoughts on Facebook alongside a photo of a tattoo that he has had for over 30 years. "It says, 'The right to keep and bear arms,'" Pappalardo wrote. "I still believe in this but also believe there needs to be much tougher gun laws."

"Sadly you can't prevent all of these tragedies," he added, "but we can make it harder for weapons like this to get into people's hands."

Since Pappalardo's video went viral, other legal gun owners have posted similar videos or photos of themselves destroying their weapons, along with the hashtag #onelessgun, CNN reported.

On Friday, a woman named Amanda Meyer posted a video of herself sawing her handgun into two pieces on Facebook.

"I keep saying that people don't need rapidly firing guns," Meyer wrote in the caption for the video. "Today I made it a reality, at least for myself. If you destroy a gun, be sure to report it to local law enforcement."

And on Monday, a man named Jonah Manning shared a photo of his handgun cut into two pieces. "Tomorrow the world will have one less gun in it," he wrote on Facebook.

Scott Pappalardo did not immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.

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