I haven’t hidden my dislike of the phrase “in common use” when it comes to the constitutionality of gun control. That was never part of anything the Founding Fathers believed, and it’s a stretch to say they would have. They were radicals of their day, talking about weird, fringe ideas like personal liberty and consent of the governed. I think they’d have been more fine with universal machine guns than gun control.
And if not, it would be because they didn’t want the government paying for it, which is fair.
But, like it or not, that’s the current standard. “In common use” is something we’re always going to try to argue when it comes to things like assault weapon bans.
Since we are, we might as well go ahead and point out that the AR-15, the subject of an upcoming Supreme Court case, is in common use.
Americans collectively own 461 million firearms — and AR-15-style rifles account for about 40 million of those, according to a new study by Georgetown University professor William English.
Overall, about 88 million Americans own guns, he calculates.
Mr. English estimates that 25% of them, or almost 10% of the overall U.S. adult population, own an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle, making it the most popular rifle on the market.
He argues in a brief to the Supreme Court that the prevalence of AR-15 ownership means the firearm is in common use, and therefore bans on its purchase or possession must be unconstitutional.
Now, some seem to think that the numbers are too small; I guess that’s because 50 percent plus one of the public doesn’t own something, it’s not common enough.
Well, here are a few other things that seem to be pretty common but are less common than AR-15s.
- The Ford F-150: The Ford F-150 is the best-selling vehicle in the United States for nearly half a century. If you pull into a parking lot that’s anything but empty, you’re likely to see one. Despite that, they account for fewer than four percent of vehicles on the road today.
- Stanley Quencher: A few years ago, the giant Stanley Quencher, preferably in pink, seemed to be ubiquitous among suburban moms. They were everywhere except in the stores. However, only about five percent of the population has one.
- Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer: Watch a TV show that has a stand mixer anywhere, and the venerable Kitchen-Aid is instantly recognizable. They’re great mixers, if less than inexpensive. Still, they’re common enough. They also only show up in fewer than 10 percent of kitchens, according to Google.
- The PlayStation 5: It sold 30 million units. That’s about nine percent of the population.
Get the point?
These weapons are common as hell. They’re in a lot of American homes, more than a lot of other things we think of as “common.”
If we’re going to play the “in common use” game, the AR-15 qualifies.
More than that, though, the AR-15 isn’t the only so-called assault weapon out there. We have the AK-style rifles, to say nothing of the CETME/FAL/G3 family of rifles, the M1A/M14 style rifles, and a host of other guns that are still in the realm of “assault weapon” but don’t fall neatly into these categories.
In common use?
You better believe it.
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