The Constitution includes a proviso for Letters of Marque -- if a private citizen happens to have a war ship, loaded with cannon, and capable of engaging ships of the British fleet, the Constitution provides grounds for Congress to authorize use of such a private vessel in official servive to our country.
So ... yeah ... US citizens can arm themselves with just about anything, Bucko.
A short-barrelled weapon with a high ammo capacity, be it a shotgun or an AR, is superior for home defense over a long-barrelled hunting weapon.
Nothing like Joe Biden, a man with Secret Service protection, lecturing those without bodyguards on how to defend themselves and their homes. Hint, Joe - your Secret Service detail does not pack duck-hunting shotguns.
They shoulda' known better than tinker with the militia clause back in the 70s to put the wymen in eh! Put in the old ausfahrts as well Bwahahahaha!
Back in the 1870s you would find a trail drive’s drovers better armed than a cavalry platoon. And on rivers from the Ohio to the Missouri flatboats would routinely have swivel cannon as defense against river pirates. And more importantly we are approaching the 238th anniversary of Lexinton and Concord. Do people remember why the British Light infantry andRoyal Marines were marching toward Concord that April Morning? To confiscate the arms of the provisional militia which were stored at Concord and which included wheeled cannon.
Right you are and most merchant ships in those days had at least a few cannons mounted to protect against pirates.
“So ... yeah ... US citizens can arm themselves with just about anything, Bucko.”
And to answer the inevitable obvious:
The boundary to that right is what places others at improper risk.
Guns don’t “go off”, but if one did (freak malfunction/event) the danger is only to a very narrow line which, odds are, would be a few inches or feet long, or at most a few hundred yards thru air, with very low odds of harming someone - a danger far lower than risked in daily driving.
The only proper limit on arms is when the odds of undue harm are high, be it from accident or misuse - a la Bhopal or Nagasaki. If storage & use is responsible, fine.
Anyone pulling the “nothing crew served or above” line has to give objective reasons why, not “OMGNukes”.
Sorry, just ranting.