Writes Mark S.:

Hi Lew,

In the Piece the author writes about the Founders’ attitudes towards minors and gun use/ownership. I don’t know what their ideas were about “minors” but, young people with firearms was pretty clear.

During Bill Clinton’s first term he had an event in St. Petersburg, FL regarding teen violence. He stated, roughly, that the Founders never imagined teens being as well armed as the police. This got me to thinking. I live near the site of the Battle of Kings Mountain. It was a revolutionary war battle that was part of the Southern theater turn to defeat the British. In the local library I found a work that documented the battle. It included the names of the participants and, in many cases, their birth dates. 

In going through the list I found over 80 participants that had documented ages under 18. Among them were a dozen or so officers. Some were captured by the British, escaped and rejoined the battle. The youngest, as I recall, was 12.

I think it’s pretty obvious that our Founders were just fine with “minors” possessing firearms. The problem we have today is not young people with firearms but, the idea that they are “children” and cannot be responsible young adults.