Biden’s “limitations” on the 2nd amendment

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

-2nd Amendment

“The Second Amendment, from the day it was passed, limited the type of people who could own a gun and what type of weapon you could own”

– Joe Biden

I don’t agree with Joe here. The 2nd Amendment makes no distinction of any kind with regard to who could own weapons, or what kind.

There were however, over the years loads of legal restrictions on who could own firearms and what types of firearms. Reputable articles on the racist origins of gun control in the US:

Boston Globe

The Hill

1) These types of laws were on the books, before, during and after the writing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Joe is right that there were limitations. But he’s incorrect in attributing those limitations to the constitution. But imagine for a second, citing racist laws as justification for gun control today. That’s some twisted shit…

2) If you look at today’s cities, you are far more likely to face legal restrictions with regard to firearms in urban environments as opposed to rural environments. Black people demographically tend to live in cities. Effectively, you are more likely to be affected by gun control laws today if you are black than if you are white by sheer virtue of population demographics. Example:

Dom Kennedy Case