Lets shutdown the musket argument, the lies must end.

[ProtoPatriot]

Lets shutdown the musket argument, the lies must end.

So the founders had no idea that an automatic weapon was possible? Something that could shoot faster than a single load musket?

Try again, they knew full well.

Lets take a look at a little history:
Automatics date back to the 1500s. One of the first form of Automatic weapons that founders would have seen and known of was seen in 1718, 1730, 1770; 18+ years before the 2nd amendment was written.

The Puckle Gun - 1718

In 1718, James Puckle of London, England, demonstrated his new invention, the "Puckle Gun," a tripod-mounted, single-barreled flintlock gun fitted with a multishot revolving cylinder. This weapon fired nine shots per minute at a time when the standard soldier's musket could be loaded and fired but three times per minute. Puckle demonstrated two versions of the basic design. One weapon, intended for use against Christian enemies, fired conventional round bullets, while the second variant, designed to be used against the Muslim Turks, fired square bullets, which were believed to cause more severe and painful wounds than spherical projectiles. The "Puckle Gun" failed to attract investors and never achieved mass production or sales to the British armed forces. One newspaper of the period observed following the business venture's failure that "those are only wounded who hold shares therein."
According to the Patent Office of the United Kingdom, "In the reign of Queen Anne, the law officers of the Crown established as a condition of patent that the inventor must in writing describe the invention and the manner in which it works." James Puckle's 1718 patent for a gun was one of the first to provide a description.

How about the pepper-box revolver in 1790?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper-box

How about the Nock gun in 1779?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nock_gun

1730 Dutch break open, breach loader, used metallic cartridges.

1670-1686 Cookson repeating flintlock.

Approx 1550, double barreled over n under wheel lock. German.

1770, Mairet aux Ponci flintlock pepperbox.

1500s Spanish sword with double barreled pistol hidden within.

High power repeating air rifles also date way back.

These all had the ability to fire rapidly.

They knew full well that technology advances and that humans will always find a new, more devastating ways to kill each other. This is why they stated the 2nd amendment the in such a way:  "keep and bear arms", since that is all encompassing phrase for any and all kinds of weaponry, non-restrictive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puckle_gun
http://patriciahysell.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/puckle-gun/
http://guns411.com/cool-guns-411-the-puckle-gun-1718/

[bkoenig]

The founding fathers were immensely learned men.  They were the Einsteins and Hawkings of their day and lived in a time that saw huge technological advances.  To suggest that they thought humanity had reached the peak of mechanical engineering is asinine.

[ProtoPatriot]

Very much so.

This is the result of hearing such things so many times and the guy that the news so conveniently brought by to the Day of Resistance rally who said such things.

[Waltherfan]

I've always felt (even before I knew about the Puckle gun) that the founding fathers could understand a modern sporting rifle a lot easier than they could understand TV and the internet.

[DangerousDrummer]

The rifled barrel was in fact the assault weapon of the times. Without it we would all be speaking with a British accent and paying taxes to the Queen.

End of discussion.

[Gary]

Did they envision 300 plus million people, sporting 200 million firearms (should hit that number soon) occupying cities of tens of millions of people?   Did they see interstate highways teeming with 75 MPH motorcars, observed by helicopters and unmanned drones?   Did they foresee Wal-Mart's selling Colt M4's with high capacity magazines for ammo shooting 3400 feet a second?

Clearly the founding fathers did not see the future, no one does, yet their ruling documents still fit todays lifestyle pretty well, with a few amendments here and there.  Thank goodness for the 2nd amendment. 

[unfy]

Hmmmm this was always amusing:

[ProtoPatriot]

There is no such thing as an "assault weapon". That is fabricated propaganda term used to demonize objects, specifically firearms in order to push for their confiscation and oppress the people.

Assault is an action by a conscious being ONLY and not inanimate objects.

A Weapon is anything and everything that can be used to cause harm. So a feather (yes, it is possible to kill someone in multiple ways with a single feather), a hammer, a blanket, a shirt, etc. EVERYTHING in existence can be used as a weapon. Objects are only weapons at the time in which they are used to cause harm and that is it. Otherwise, they are merely inanimate objects, tools.

Here is a great song on such things:

[SeanN]

Very much so.

This is the result of hearing such things so many times and the guy that the news so conveniently brought by to the Day of Resistance rally who said such things.

Wow, that guy is so ignorant.

[Nebraska12]

I like to counter the argument with a reference to the 1st Amendment; one in which the media covets. Certainly, if the 2nd doesn't meant to pertain to modern day firearms, then the 1st shouldn't pertain to modern methods of communication.

[DangerousDrummer]

I like to counter the argument with a reference to the 1st Amendment; one in which the media covets. Certainly, if the 2nd doesn't meant to pertain to modern day firearms, then the 1st shouldn't pertain to modern methods of communication.

Wow! That is good, I am going to steal that. There is a particular idiot at work that told me I didn't "need" an assault weapon. It was so stupid, I was speechless. I now carry some dummy rounds and use them like worry beads just to piss off the gun haters.  I will modify it to include cell phones because the idiots can't function without a phone to their ear. ( I often wonder if there is anyone on the other end of the call, or if they are pretending that they actually have friends.)