A lot has changed since then. Shouldn’t the laws change, too?
AR-15-type assault rifles are a popular choice for those looking to maximize the amount of people they slaughter in the fastest time possible. The Orlando, San Bernardino, Aurora, and Newtown mass murderers all used similar assault-style rifles to accomplish their heinous acts. But this isn’t a recent phenomenon, over the past decade they’ve been used in 14 public mass shootings. Despite the death toll racked up by these machines of death, they’ve been available to the general public since the assault weapons ban expired in 2004.
Americans’ access to high-powered assault rifles is a right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But being that it was written at a time when its framers couldn’t imagine the amount of firepower available 225 years in the future, isn’t it time we reevaluate the amendment’s original intentions? In the video above, we see just how hard it would be to pull off a mass shooting with a typical Revolutionary-era musket available when the Second Amendment was written.
Editor’s note: There were rudimentary assault-style guns available in 1791 such as the Giardoni air rifle, puckle guns, and nock volley guns. But, it’s fair to say these guns pale in comparison to the accuracy and fire power available through modern weaponry.
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