It’s about time that this fable of “military use only” was ended once and for all.
>>It’s about time that this fable of “military use only” was ended once and for all.
I’m kind of surprised there hasn’t been more mention of Ginsberg (of all people) saying that the ban on machine guns might not pass the Miller test since full auto weapons are standard issue.
Militart use only? Well, that includes handguns, especially 1911s, M-16 assault rifles (real assault rifles, not what the press lies about), sniper rifles up to and including .50 BMG, silencer, sawed-off shotguns, and for that matter single-person-operable anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. Oh, and miniguns, and 20 mm grenade launchers (which just look so cute under the rifle barrel on an M-16). And probably a few others. Duck hunters would be pissed, there are no Krieghoffs in the military.
Be very careful what you wish for. As the oral arguments went, “military use only” could well end up being replaced by “civilian use only” which would clearly gut the primary intent of the 2d.
If you have any doubts, search the transcript for the phrase "common-use". You'll find it being uttered more than once by the likes of Scalia and Roberts in the context of commonly used civilian arms being protected while Our Hero Gura was throwing machine guns under the bus. .50 cal single shot rifles and "bayonet ready" EBRs could easily go the way of post-86 machine guns with that line of thinking.