U.S. Supreme Court Said the AR-15 was Ban-proof 86 Years Ago - Ammoland.com

 May 15, 1939, was 69 years before Heller and 83 years before Bruen. Eugene Stoner was 16 years old; it would be 15 years before he went to work for Armalite.

On that day, Associate Justice James McReynolds delivered the Supreme Court’s 8-0 decision in United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174.

Citing Aymette v. State, the Court said: “In the absence of any evidence tending to show that possession or use of a ‘shotgun having a barrel of less than eighteen inches in length’ at this time has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument. Certainly, it is not within judicial notice that this weapon is any part of the ordinary military equipment, or that its use could contribute to the common defense.”

It’s often forgotten the only type of gun that was “on trial” was the sawed-off shotgun found in the possession of a couple of outlaws, Jack Miller and Frank Layton. This is important; it was the first time the Supreme Court established a standard for the types of bearable arms protected by the Second Amendment.

In Miller, the Court said such protection applied only to weapons “hav(ing) some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia.”

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