Did Our Forefathers Know High Firepower weapons would be eminent?

[mbt2001]

I don't think the founding fathers anticipated rocket artillery or specifically planned on making it part of the Second Amendment.

"... and the rockets red glare
the bombs bursting in air...."

I would have to disagree with that. The 2nd Amendment covered the "cutting edge" weapons of the day. Certainly the IDEA of more effective weapons were as apparent to the founding fathers as LASER GUNS are to us. I wonder if they could have imagined DEATH RAYS, AND LASERS, but guns... No problem. The idea of a machine gun was invented along time ago, a lot closer to their day than to ours.

 

[ctdonath]

no one mentioned that the Puckle gun came in two variations?

I thought about mentioning it (actually 3 variations), but wanted to stay focused on point (MGs were implemented before the Founding Fathers).

 

[ctdonath]

The point of the 2ndA was not "what shall we allow people to own?" but "let's make sure people can have whatever they need to stop their enemies!"

Could you imagine George Washington, faced with a modern British soldier with an L85A2 full-auto 5.56-cal, saying "gee, it's good that my militiamen don't have anything that powerful"? Don't scoff: our enemies HAVE AK-47s NOW (and would-be tyrants' minions have their MP5s); wouldn't Washington have very much approved of every home having an M16 as a counter thereto?