Whatever the likelihood that handguns were considered ‘dangerous and unusual’ during the colonial period, they are today ‘the quintessential self-defense weapon.’”
If you have paid attention to the gun debate in America, you have almost certainly heard proponents of stricter gun control state that the Second Amendment does not apply to modern firearms. Many people claim that the Founding Fathers could not have envisioned the weapons of today, and that their language in the Second Amendment therefore must not include modern weapons. People claim this despite the fact that the Fourth and Fifth Amendments apply to computers, cars and cell phones, and the First Amendment applies to speech on computers. Fortunately, the Court found that the Second Amendment certainly does apply to modern firearms. Historical laws prohibiting people from carrying “dangerous and unusual” weapons consider weapons as they are viewed by the common person. While a person in the 1700s may find a modern handgun dangerous and unusual, the court found that modern handguns are “the quintessential self-defense weapon.