The black powder solution

The whole “gun control” debate always stuck me as rather silly and even boring.  Of course people should be allowed to hunt and own weapons.  Of course the government should be allowed to prohibit certain types of weapons and ammo (assault rifles, lead bullets, land mines, RPGs).  

The N.R.A. is a particular irritant.  It raises fears of a total ban in order to rake in large amounts of cash, and gun owners with no sense allow themselves to be bamboozled.

I have heard good suggestions over the years.  One that has merit is to license gun owners rather than guns.  The government doesn’t care if you drive a Ford or a Honda, as long as you pass the driver’s exam.  We could do something similar for gun owners.  In fact, we already require hunters to take a safety course before they can get a license.

In dealing with this issue, Supreme Court justices Scalia and Thomas are always asking what the Founding Fathers meant by certain phrases.  They try to get at the original intent.  They look back to 1789 for guidance.  

So here’s is my idea.  You can own any gun as long as it resembles a gun used in 1789 when the Second Amendment was written.  No automatics.  No AK-47s.  No Glocks.  All the weapons must use black powder.  Such guns are available--in fact, Pennsylvania has a black powder season for deer.  You load the gun through the muzzle, and you dump in powder to propel the bullet.  

In bar disputes you would see guys pulling out their rifles, their ramrods, their wads, and their powder horns.  By the time they were ready to shoot, you could be driving away.  This strikes me as eminently reasonable.  We could all bear arms, and they would be the arms that James Madison and John Adams would recognize immediately.  I’m sending my suggestion to the N.R.A.