This day in history

In 1775, this day in history was one filled with tension. Of course, April 19th (tomorrow) would play host to the battles of Lexington and Concord, which were the recognized beginning of the American Revolutionary War.

Prior to 1775, tensions had been mounting. The American colonists were angry with the increased sanctions being exercised by King George III and the British Parliament.

Among the accusations against the king, which are outlined more completely in the Declaration of Independence, included several that are relevant even to this day:
- imposing Taxes on us without our Consent
- combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation
- erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

Hhhmmmm.... sound somewhat familiar?

Among other grievances, there were laws enacted to prevent the general public from ownership of the modern military firearms of the day. Specifically targeted was the (then) new rifle technology that allowed the black-powder muskets of the day to increase their effective range from about 75 yards to up to 250 yards. Rifled barrels had existed for some time, but had only become effective in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War. Also, the British had been confiscating weapons and ammo (back then there were no cartridges, just powder and lead musket balls).

Make no mistake, these things are antiquated compared to firearms technology we now have. But at that time, these were the "latest and greatest" guns and ammo.

These days we hear political groups and anti-gun groups say we need to ban this or restrict that. These folks refuse to participate in the factual world. When guns, accessories, or ammo are banned, the ban only keeps them out of the hands of the law-abiding. Criminals do not obey these (or other) laws, and will go ahead and manufacture, purchase, steal, or otherwise get their hands on them anyways.