2/21/2017 slate.com: Appeals Court Rules that Second Amendment Doesn't Protect Right to Assault Weapons
Indeed, Maryland pointed out, the Heller court explicitly declares that especially dangerous weapons "that are most useful in military service - M-16 rifles and the like - may be banned."
One step closer to decimating the second amendment.
Thus far State's and Court's main focus has been on rifles. Our handguns will be next. The justification? Handguns are used in 47% of murders committed in the United States. Rifles; 2%(*). Really doesn't make sense to restrict rifles and not handguns if the objective is to reduce gun violence.
Most disturbing in the above headline are the words "that are most useful in military service". Considering the Marine Corps and Navy SEALs have adopted the Glock 19 as their official pistol we may well one day see the headline:
'The Heller court explicitly declares that especially dangerous weapons 'that are most useful in military service - Glock 19 pistols and the like - may be banned.'
For those who don't know, 'Glock 19 pistols and the like' represent over 80% of handgun sales in America.
The country's highest court has ruled that outright bans on civilian ownership of handguns are unconstitutional (District of Columbia v. Heller, McDonald v. City of Chicago). Therefore, as with rifles, groups like The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and states like California will come after handguns sideways. Some examples of how this could be done:
Require handguns to have an internal key lock
Ban removable magazines
Restrict magazine capacity to 3 rounds
Require thumb safety feature
Require magazine disconnect safety feature
Ban flashlight and laser site rails
Ban the rifling of pistol barrels
Limit rounds to 22 caliber, 20 grain target rounds
Mandate expensive handgun training prior to purchase
Implement excessive registration and licensing procedures
Limit the amount of ammunition one can purchase within a given time frame
Make private sales of handguns illegal
Limit handgun purchases to one per year
These are just off the top of my head. I'm sure more imaginative anti-gun advocates can come up with a few more.
Regulation by regulation, ban by ban, progressives will continue their attacks on firearms until a ball bat is the only legal defensive weapon available to American citizens. Then they'll go after ball bats. Only makes sense as blunt objects are used in more murders than rifles(*).