The Elderly, Self-Defense, and the Demonization of the AR-15: A Constitutional and Moral Outrage

Redundantly, the gun control zealots have fixated on their favorite boogeyman: the AR-15—America’s most popular and widely owned rifle. With obsessive fervor, they label it a “weapon of war,” exploiting fear and ignorance to strip away rights from law-abiding Americans. But here’s the truth they don’t want you to hear: AR-15s and other rifles are involved in just a tiny fraction—only 2.6%—of homicides in the United States, according to 2019 FBI data. Knives, blunt objects, and even fists kill more people annually than these rifles.

But beyond the statistics lies an urgent and morally unforgivable issue: the disarmament of America’s most vulnerable citizens—our elderly and disabled.

With age comes frailty. Osteoarthritis, Parkinson’s disease, and Sarcopenia rob millions of older Americans of their physical strength, motor skills, and coordination. For them, lifting, aiming, and firing a handgun—let alone racking a slide or managing recoil—can be physically impossible. But an AR-15, with its low recoil, adjustable stock, and superior ergonomics, levels the playing field. It allows the elderly and physically impaired to safely, accurately, and effectively defend themselves.

Taking this tool away from them isn’t just unconstitutional—it’s inhumane.

Denying elderly Americans access to the very weapons that could save their lives in a crisis may well violate the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying them equal access to effective means of self-defense. Are we really prepared to tell our aging parents and grandparents, “You’re on your own,” when thugs kick in their door at 3 a.m.? Are we comfortable letting them die defenseless because some politicians and media figures find modern rifles scary?

This isn’t about sports shooting. It’s not about hunting. It’s about survival. It’s about civil rights. It’s about the Constitution.

The so-called “assault weapons bans” are a direct assault on the elderly, the disabled, and the defenseless. They’re not just unconstitutional under District of Columbia v. Heller, McDonald v. City of Chicago, and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen—they are a moral disgrace.

Every American, regardless of age or ability, has a God-given and constitutionally protected right to defend their life with the most effective tools available.

Take away the AR-15 from the elderly, and you don’t just disarm them. You condemn them.