When I think of colonial America and our founders, one of the visuals that comes to mind is the musket over the mantle . It was accessible to any household member who could reach it. Modern efforts to push the locking away of firearms are intended to convince people that, "guns are bad," but any degree of critical thinking will lead to the conclusion that in general, people are no longer as disciplined and responsible as they once were.
There is truth in that, but there is also truth that more people know more about relative risks and safety than they did a hundred or two hundred years ago.
Before the Left weaponized statistics (fairly early) there was a period when facts actually mattered.