A Founding Fathers-Approved Gun Control Plan
The heart of the gun control debate is constitutional freedoms versus the safety of society. A citizen has the right (if properly permitted in a legally approved public area or on private private property) to hunt and shoot at a range for sport. A citizen also has the right to defend their home and protect their family against an intruder. A citizen does not have the right to shoot at other citizens in a public area.
In 1789, the best option was a flintlock musket and the most basic model would be about $1,200 today, making it a major investment. While these rifles changed the shape of the battlefield, they would provide little utility to a deranged citizen intent on mass murder since even the fastest, most skilled user could only fire one every 15–20 seconds. This is not a lesson in the evolution of firearms, it is an example of the type of weapon the Founding Fathers had in mind while writing the constitution.
There are lots of different types of modern firearms. Some are designed for specific types of hunting, others for long-range shooting, and some to give the user a tactical advantage in a combat situation. If we think about the types of sporting and pleasure activities that involve firearms and fall within a citizen’s rights, there are certain types of guns that serve all the necessary purposes. On the other hand, there are other types of weapons that cater specifically to the needs of a mass shooter without providing any novel utility to a hunter.
Proposed Legal Models that Serve Every Sporting and Hunting Purpose
Two types of firearms can meet every reasonable hunting and sport shooting purpose.
Break-action Shotgun
Sport clays, skeet, and waterfowl hunting are all legal and enjoyable activities that require a shotgun. A break-action model separates in the middle and shells are loaded and unloaded from the base of the barrel (video explanation). Only two shells can be loaded at a time and must be unloaded before the weapon can be reloaded. This reloading time means that in a crowded public area, a shooter could only fire twice before needing to use both hands to reload, allowing time for other citizens to rush and tackle the shooter.
The break-action shotgun is a superior choice for both sport shooting and hunting. The world record for the longest clay pigeon shot was made with a break-action.
All ages of hunters can enjoy break-action shotguns, from this young boy hunting crows to professionally sponsored goose and duck hunters. “CanadianWaterfowler” describes this break-action shotgun as one gun for most hunting needs.
Break-action shotguns also meet all the needs of both professional and amateur skeet, trap, and adventure course shooters. They are the only type of shotgun allowed at the Olympics for skeet shooting.
The break-action shotgun provides the utility that hunters and sport shooters need without providing an effective weapon for a mass shooter.
Black Powder Rifle
Hunting for deer and big game plus long-range target shooting requires a rifle, plain and simple. The same basic principals of the 1700’s muskets are still employed with modern black powder rifles. Sportsman’s Warehouse explains:
Using black powder guns, or muzzleloaders, while hunting is like taking a little piece of history with you. Many models are ornately decorated, making them just as fun to look at as they are to use. Filling the gun with powder, taking care of the equipment, and firing the rifle or pistol emits a vintage feel that is still wildly effective for today’s hunters.
Muzzleloaders are great for target shooting and hunting both small and big game. Your hunting area might even have a separate black powder hunting season, which extends your possible hunting time. Before you purchase one of our excellent black powder guns, be sure to check where you wish to hunt has caliber restrictions.
Outdoor Oklahoma explains all of the basics of black powder hunting in this video. These guys hunt giant mule deer with black powder muzzle loaders.
Black powder rifles are affordable and accessible for all types of shooters. A basic model is only $350.
If you are interested in long-range shooting, marksmen with black powder rifles are able to make shots over 1,000 yards, allowing any type of interested sportsman adequate utility to test and hone their skills.
Like the break-action shotgun, a black powder rifle provides hunters and sport shooters alike all the necessary utility to hunt big game or long-range target shoot, but does not provide a mass shooter with an effective weapon.
Home Defense
There are few — if any — scenarios where you would need to fire more than 2 shots at an intruder within your home. This home defense expert also demonstrates the utility of a break-action shotgun.
Critics will say that the break-action shotgun doesn’t give the home owner adequate firepower, but their entire home defense concept is largely a fallacy. The LA Times breaks down the statistics:
259 justifiable homicides (home defense) also pale compared with, in the same year, 8,342 criminal homicides using guns, 20,666 suicides with guns, and 548 fatal unintentional shootings, according to the FBI’s Supplemental Homicide Report. The ratio for 2012, per the Violence Policy Center, was one justifiable killing for every 32 murders, suicides or accidental deaths (the ratio increases to 38–1 over the five-year period ending in 2012).
A shotgun provides a home owner with peace of mind if they really feel that it is necessary. Based on the statistics, the presence of other guns in the home actually provide more opportunity for theft and malicious use than utility in home defense.
Proposed Reform
The United States needs to reform gun regulations to inhibit mass shooting while enabling law abiding citizens to hunt and sport shoot freely.
All firearms that are not break-action shotguns and black powder rifles should be deemed illegal due to the unnecessary risk that they pose in the hands of a mass shooter.
Law abiding citizens can still meet all of their hunting and sporting needs with these two types of firearms that will continue to remain openly accessible for purchase, ownership, and free use in the same manner that they have been since the constitution was written.
David Riedman is an expert in critical infrastructure protection, disaster preparedness, and emergency management. He is a co-founder of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s Advanced Thinking and Experimentation (HSx) Program at the Naval Postgraduate School.
