This week, two students at the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York used an "assault rifle" that may soon be banned by law to frighten away armed burglars who had broken into their home.
Local station ABC 13 reports that the students, Christopher Boise and Raymond (no last name given) were awakened in the wee hours Tuesday morning to noises coming from the basement.
Boise got up to investigate and found two men, one with a gun pointed at him, at the bottom of the stairs in the lower level of his apartment.
Hearing Boise's cry of alarm, Raymond instinctively went for his AR-15 rifle, which he kept legally for self-defense.
When the men came to Raymond's door, they saw the barrel of his gun at the ready and fled immediately.
"Nothing was taken and no shots were fired," the station reports.
Police officials confirmed that the gun was legal and Raymond had acted rightly in protecting his property.
"They decided this place was a good place to rob, just a wrong decision on their part," Raymond told ABC 13.
Watch the station's interview with the two students here:
National Rifle Association President David Keene has called the AR-15 a gun "liberals love to hate" and though some argue that its lightweight make and intimidating appearance make the AR-15 a perfect weapon for home and self-defense, it may soon be banned.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced legislation this week that would ban all assault weapons, with 157 specifically named firearms, including the AR-15, on the prohibited list.
