His article is from 2016, he is pretty representative of the common public from 2 years ago. I bet when he wrote it, he was truly unaware that some big bore air rifles were dishing out 5 times the smackdown (FPE) of the venerable .22 long rifle. When the Marauder is at the range, other people are shocked what a tack driver it is. Painting the bull's eye at 50 yards is trivial, and I invite them to do it as well. A far cry from my old Red Ryder.
I think Mattblum has a valid point, as visibility increases for air rifles, there is always a risk that we are all one sensational story away from a new slew of regulations being applied to the use of air rifles. I even view a moderate risk from the states which now allow big game hunting with air rifles. At some point, a congressman will make the intuitive leap and say, "Hmmmm, if they are powerful enough to kill a hog or a deer, I wonder if it could kill a human as well". And then the real troubles will begin.
For now, we live in the Golden Age of air rifles. They are powerful enough for real use, but without all of the extra regulations. Our children, once they are adults may not be able to purchase some air rifles without going through extra process, similar to purchasing a gunpowder based firearm. Places like Chicago already have such rules in place.