I'm sorry if my question is off-topic, I just don't really know the rules about weapons in your country, especially since they are different in different states.
I just don’t really understand why there is such indignation over possible bans on "assault weapons"?
No, that is a great question.
You would not know it by listening to court decisions, but the primary purpose of the Second Amendment not to use to shoot criminals, or to hunt animals. It is to prevent the Federal Government from becoming tyrannical.
In the American Colonies, and in the early USA, we had a militia system for most of our military force... that is,
all free able bodied men were required by law to own a gun, ammunition, and a bayonet. If you didn't own one, you would be fined, and the money would be used to buy guns for the poor so they could do their militia duty. The militia would meet a few times a year for drilling. This was our primary force for defense against the Indians (and the French). Militia aren't that great, obviously, when compared to a professional, but we lots and lots of them, and they could be fielded anywhere rapidly. When the Second Amendment refers to the militia is talking about basically everybody, not a small group of people, not professionals.
When the colonies and England started having disputes, the British sent their military to confiscate the guns, cannons, shot and powder of the militia (that is, of ordinary people). This infuriated the Americans so much, we shot back... and thus the American Revolution started. It didn't start with politicians signing a document, or making some state. Regular people shot soldiers trying to take their guns away. That's it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Lexington_and_ConcordIn the American Revolution, militias were inferior to professional troops, but we would not have won without them... they won several major battles (including the Battle of King's Mountain), and they were available in huge numbers, when the professional soliders were not.
After we won the Revolution, patriots remembered how the professional British Military had been used to repress the people, and they wanted to be sure that would never happen with the military forces of the USA... hence the Second Amendment was written, to ensure that the government would never disarm the people.... when the people are well armed with guns they know how to, and are willing to use, it is difficult to oppress them.
Everything in the Constition establishes checks and balances, to make sure no one group has too much power. The Senate versus the House of Representatives... the President versus the legislature... the Supreme Court can check both of these. Well, the Second Amendment provides a check on the power of the USA's professional military:
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.Here is probably the most re-printed explanation of this amendment, published during the ratification period:
As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people duly before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the next article in their right to keep and bear their private arms.Tench Coxe
What weapons are protected? Military ones, as literally all courts and commenators who opined on the issue noted, until the 20th century:
Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Is it feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American… The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.Tench Coxe, again
The militia system is no longer organized like it used to (a modern equivalent would be similar to the Swiss Militia System)... it fell apart about the time of the civil war...
The "unorganized militia" still exists in US law- all abled bodied men with weapons... and this makes it much more difficult for a maligant government to oppress people, knowing that they have the ability to shoot back.
Semi-automatic rifles are the only weapons readily available in the USA that has potential military use... that is one reason the democrats want to ban, them, and why we have a right to own them.
In reality, Americans have a right to own any gun used by our military, and our current ban on real assault rifles (machine guns) is blatantly unconstitutional, but the courts won't acknowledge this.
