March 15, 2013 09:34 AM UTC

Post should have pointed out that a Magpul magazine could have been used by Newtown killer

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• by: Jason Salzman

(A potentially huge question – promoted by Colorado Pols)

UPDATE: KOA's Mike Rosen had Duane Liptak, director of Magpul Dynamics, on the air this morning, and so I called in and asked Liptak how he'd feel if a Magpul 30-round magazine were used at the Sandy Hook massacre. Here's how my converstation went. Notet that Liptak answered my question at the end, saying that I should address the "criminal, not the instrument."

Jason: You make the most popular 30-round magazine, I think, in the country.

Liptak: We are definitely an industry leader in the standard-capacity magazines in common use.

Jason: Right, so what that means, is there's a significant likelihood that your magazine was used at Sandy Hook, right? And I'm wondering how you feel about that?

Rosen: What a stupid question!

Jason: It's fair enough!

Rosen: Of course this is a flaming lefty, Jason Salzman.What a moron you are, Jason–

Rosen then hung up on me, ending the conversation. Rosen and Liptak, whose company says it will leave Colorado if the bill limiting the size of magazines becomes law, continued.

Rosen: …What a terrible innuendo.

Liptak: Absolutely.

Rosen: So he's trying to relate you to Sandy Hook. This is the way the left operates. We're having a rational discussion here, talking about some of the specifics, the elements, of the bill. And he wants to make that kind of contention. Shame on you, Jason Salzman.

Liptak: Address the individual behavior and the criminal, not the instrument.

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In a March 8 article about Colorado legislation limiting the capacity of ammunition magazines for guns, The Denver Post's Kurtis Lee reported the comment from Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman that magazines from Magpul Industries, a Colorado ammunition manufacturer, were used to kill Osama Bin Laden.

Magpul has threatened to leave Colorado if state lawmakers prohibit the sale of magazines with more than 15 rounds, and Colorado is on the verge of enacting this type of ban, along with a set of other gun-safety laws.

Lee reported:

Sen. Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, offered testimony in the floor debate that "reveals members of SEAL Team 6 used Magpul magazines" in the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

Lee should have pointed out that large-capacity magazines, like those manufactured by Magpul Industries, are also used in assault weapons like the AR-15, which was the primary gun used in the Newtown Connecticut massacre.

Press reports state that Newtown killer Adam Lanza used 30-round magazines, and check of Connecticut gun shops showed that Magpul brand 30-round magazines are available–though Lanza's magazines, whether a Magpul or some other brand, could have been purchased from numerous out-of-state sources as well.

Magpul's PMAG is the most popular 30-round magazine in the U.S., gun expert Mark Walters told NBC News.

I called the Connecticut State Police to find out if evidence shows that Lanza used a Magpul magazine.

"We can’t disclose any of the bits and pieces of the investigation until it’s completed," said Lt. J. Paul Vance, spokesman for the Connecticut State Police.

Asked if the brand name of the magazine is known, Vance said:

"We seized the high-capacity magazines, and we do know the brand. We do have them in our possession."

Vance said that when his office's final report on the Newtown investigation is released, the brands of the magazines used will be made public. A release date hasn't been set.

Back in December, Vance told CNN details about the primary weapon used in the Newtown attack, including its brand:

The primary weapon used in the attack was a "Bushmaster AR-15 assault-type weapon," said Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance. The rifle is a Bushmaster version of a widely made AR-15, the civilian version of the M-16 rifle used by the U.S. military. The original M-16 patent ran out years ago, and now the AR-15 is manufactured by several gun makers. Unlike the military version, the AR-15 is a semiautomatic, firing one bullet per squeeze of the trigger. But like the M-16, ammunition is loaded through a magazine. In the school shooting, police say Lanza's rifle used numerous 30-round magazines.

An AR-15 is usually capable of firing a rate of 45 rounds per minute in semiautomatic mode.

Police didn't offer details about the specific model of the rifle Lanza used. A typical Bushmaster rifle, such as the M4 model, comes with a 30-round magazine but can use magazines of various capacities from five to 40 rounds. An M4 weighs about 6 ½ pounds and retails for about $1,300.

CNN reported that Bushmaster claims to be the top supplier of AR-15s in the U.S.

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