Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Sunday said that even "handheld rocket launchers" could be considered legal under his interpretation of the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.
In the wake of a massacre in Colorado that left 12 dead and 58 wounded, host Chris Wallace asked Scalia if the Constitution would support assault-type AR-15 rifles and 100-round clips.
The justice explained that under his principle of originalism, some limitations on weapons were possible. Fox example, laws to restrict people from carrying a "head axe" would be constitutional because it was a misdemeanor when the Constitution was adopted in the late 1700s.
"What about these technological limitations?" Wallace wondered. "Obviously, we're not now talking about a handgun or a musket, we're talking about a weapon that can fire a hundred shots in a minute."
"We'll see," Scalia replied. "Obviously the amendment does not apply to arms that can not be carried. It's to 'keep and bear' so it doesn't apply to cannons."
"But I suppose there are handheld rocket launchers that can bring down airplanes that will have to -- it's will have to be decided," he added.
