Empty your pockets


Being prepared and freedom
Julian Metcalf has a thought provoking entry on his blog. The whole idea of of his Travel Tinker Trouble Kit probably wouldn't raise too many eyebrows, except for the lock picks.

I have my own tool obsession, but this entry has been making the rounds in the libertarian blogosphere the last couple of days and it got me to thinking.

Most states restrict the ownership of lock picks. Why?

The use of lock picks, that I can understand. Steal something, and the owner is within his rights to shoot you on the spot.

But owning the tools?

I'm pretty sure that you own some gasoline. You have a major ingredient for a Malotov cocktail. Does that mean that gasoline should be banned?

The bombing in Oklahoma City showed that fertilizer can be explosive. Does that mean that it's ownership should be restricted?

Heck, a deck of playing cards and a PVC pipe can be pretty effective in the right hands.

And that brings us to the real question.

What about guns?

More accurately, who benefits from restricting gun ownership?

Understand, the people who are willing to abide by "gun control" laws ARE NOT the ones that everyone worries about. Even most of the people who own guns despite the law aren't the ones we should be worried about.

The only two groups of people who benefit from VICTIM DISARMAMENT laws are the criminals who prey on the weak and the agents of the state who don't want to face armed opposition.

Oddly enough, those are some of the same people who benefit from restricting the ownership of lock picks.

Mr. Metcalf's kit would get confiscated in most airports. In many cities, it would be used as evidence that he is a suspicious person. Yet what in the kit is actually wrong? Even the lock picks are fairly limited, there are locks on the market that this kit could never pick. It is the difference from prosecuting someone based on what they could do instead of something that they have done.

Seems to me we are skating close to "thought crime."

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— NeoWayland

Posted: Tue - August 29, 2006 at 07:10 PM  Tag


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