The Second Amendment and Assault Weapons: Did the Supreme Court Speak? (And Was Anyone Listening)?

In our increasingly polarized society, few things will trigger a more predictable response than another mass shooting incident, particularly if it involved the use of what is known by many as an “assault weapon.” Proponents of restrictions on possession of certain weaponry—“gun control advocates”—will say that utterances of “thoughts and prayers” for victims of the latest mass carnage won’t solve anything, while those aligned with “gun rights” will predictably wrap themselves around the Second Amendment and slogans such as “when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.”