There’s a silly idea going around that since the Second Amendment was written in the 18th-century, it only secures a right to possess muskets. I suppose that folks who believe that must have slept through History class during the section on the American Revolution.
Yes, most of the soldiers in the Continental Army and most of the patriot militias were armed with smooth-bore muskets. Most. Not all. Indeed, the use of rifles by some militia units helped turn the tide of several key battles, the Battle of King’s Mountain, for instance.
So the Founders, when they wrote the Bill of Rights, understood that it was likely that the personal weapons of militiamen could be more advanced than the general issue weapons carried by Regulars.
I’ll let that sink in for a moment.
That idea that the militia’s personal weapons, i.e., those possessed by the general populace, would probably be better than those provided to the regular Army stands in stark contrast to the current notion that citizens have no need for equipment that is almost, but not quite, as effective as that issued to active duty troops.
If we were to take that approach to gun control, … Well, I doubt the anti-gun crowd wants to go there.
The Battle of Puebla took place on 5 May, 1862, near the city of Puebla during the French intervention in Mexico. The date is observed in the state of Puebla to commemorate the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces.
