Thank you for the FDK, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story!!
I do want to address the other things in your post, but I don't want to get into any heated debate, since this is considered a controversial topic, I know....
This chapter was tough and certainly relavant to our times but it sort of threw me because the type of shooting you described as being common in the story didn't actually happen in the 90's. I did a quick google search to be sure. Although there were 100 incidents that qualified as school shootings during that decade (in the whole country) they were isolated incidents, often gang related or an attack on a single person. I also don't think any of them occured at elementary schools. That sort of terrorism is much more modern. Most often the gunmen used pitols and other hand guns, not AR-15.
As you note later, yes, this was meant to be part of the AU, something different from what happened in canon universe/our universe in the 90s. So, yeah, I'll pull the "It's an AU!" card here
Also, I feel that i should point out that an AR-15 is not an assault weapon. Assault weapons are machine guns. An AR-15 is semi-automatic (only one bullet per trigger pull). The "AR" stands for Armalite, the name of the company that created it. Media likes to push the phrase "assult rifle" as anti-gun propaganda but an AR-15 is really no different than any standard hunting rifle. It just looks scarier because it has rails for sights and other hardware.
So...for this... Like I said, I *really* don't want to get into any debate, because I expect we see things differently, and I'm a
very nonconfrontational-type person... But I
do want to defend my use of the phrase "assault weapon" (or I guess actually "assault rifle")...
This phrase has merit based on both '90s terminology and currently used definitions of the phrase. Merriam-Webster defines "assault weapon" as "any of various automatic or semiautomatic firearms; especially : ASSAULT RIFLE"; and "assault rifle" is defined as "any of various intermediate-range, magazine-fed military rifles (such as the AK-47) that can be set for automatic or semiautomatic fire; also :
a rifle that resembles a military assault rifle but is designed to allow only semiautomatic fire". The AR-15 is also one of a number of weapons defined as "assault weapons" by various states, including Washington and California, where I've lived and currently live. Additionally, in the 1990s, the terminology was defined in the Federal Ban on Assault Weapons, which was included in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. In this document (section 110102, section (b) DEFINITION OF SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT WEAPON), the Colt AR-15 was defined as a semiautomatic assault weapon.
This is more to defend my use of the phrase in this story than to start a debate. (I'm happy to chat more via PM if you like!)
Overall, I do like to play around with timelines and things (I've noted at least once before that I do like everyone to have cell phones all the time, regardless of whether it's the '90s or the present! LOL), and I do also play around with science and stuff (I like Superman to be
very, very fast when needed! Speed of light is just a suggestion
). But I feel that my use of this phrase is supported, both by current definitions and by actual federal definitions from the '90s.
Again, loving the story. It is probably the most unique take on alt-Clarks future I have ever read. Curious to see what happens with Clarks visions and such from the other Clark.
Thank you!! I do soooooo love how this story came out...and seeing what chapter you're on....I'm interested to hear what you think about the rest
-Bek
