system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[MCU] Why did Captain America use firearms during his tenure in WWII, but doesn't use them in the present?
gpt
Mostly because in the 1940s there was a war on. There's no room for mercy or empathy in war, so Cap had to forgo his distaste for killing out of simple necessity. In the present however, he's mostly working for SHIELD. While he may deal with terrorist threats and super criminals on a daily basis, he doesn't want to kill them. Capture them and ensure they get a fair trial, that's the goal.

Now, during the Chitauri invasion and the Sokovia incidents, Cap obviously didn't have to worry about that too much. So why didn't he grab a gun and go to town? Simple, he didn't really have the time to check out a rifle from a quartermaster and there weren't any he could reliably use once he was on the ground. He has to clue how to use a Chitauri rifle after all.