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From: jim@oswald.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.politics
Subject: Private Arsenals
Message-ID: <12236055458.58.MCGREW@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Wed, 3-Sep-86 16:20:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: RED.12236055458.58.MCGREW
Posted: Wed Sep  3 16:20:07 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 4-Sep-86 03:35:12 EDT
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Organization: The ARPA Internet
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Approved: poli-sci@red.rutgers.edu


In a recent article, Keith Lynch expressed his opposition to any
restrictions on private ownership of munitions, possibly excepting
nuclear weapons.  This points up a crucial flaw in anti-gun-control
arguments: where do you draw the line between permissible and
impermissible weapons?  There are two options:

OPTION 1: No restrictions whatsoever on ownership of weapons
------------------------------------------------------------
This would create a terrorist's paradise.  The terrorist could, with
impunity, buy the latest instruments of death that modern technology
offers.  Why settle for a puny pipe bomb when you can legally buy a
nice dirty nuclear device (heavy on the fallout, please).

Keith seems to say that, since governments now own nuclear bombs,
private ownership would make no difference.  This is silly.  Having a
dozen or so governments that can "push the button" is bad enough, but
if thousands of private citizens had their own nuclear devices (and
think of what kind of person would want a nuclear device) it would be
a very short time indeed before we saw another nuclear holocaust.
This may happen eventually, but there's no need to help the process
along by legalizing private nuclear bombs.

OPTION 2: Restrictions on private nuclear weapons
-------------------------------------------------
This is more reasonable, but how do you draw the line saying that
private nuclear weapons are illegal, but private ownership of anthrax
bombs or nerve gas or napalm is legal?

This raises the general question: which weapons should private
individuals be permitted to own?

---
Jim Olsen   ARPA: jim%oswald.UUCP@ll-xn.ARPA
            UUCP: ...!{decvax,lll-crg,seismo}!ll-xn!oswald!jim


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