From: Hallam-Baker <hallam@ai.mit.edu>
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 1996 16:06:12 +0800
To: "Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>
Subject: Re: Responding to Pre-dawn Unannounced Ninja Raids
In-Reply-To: <4skrnb$8bp@life.ai.mit.edu>
Message-ID: <31EF19A5.15FB@ai.mit.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Timothy C. May wrote:

> I wonder when and how raids in the U.S. moved from the "Come out with your
> hands up" verbal announcement (for the cases that needed more than a knock
> on the door) to this blast-in-the-doors approach, where the raiders are
> dressed in "tactical black" and are wearing black Nomex hoods and carrying
> MP-5s and blast any "perp" who looks at them cross-eyed?
 
If people decide that they are going to permit widespread ownership of guns
then these tactics are inevitable. They are rare in the UK because gun
ownership is relatively rare.

I find this type of talk typical wishy washy libertarian twaddle. There are
dangerous people arround besides the government and the government is the
only agency that is going to protect society from them. If you don't like 
living in a country where the police are armed to the teeth then move to
the UK where there are very few armed police. Of course you will find that
the price of freedom of mind is a minor restriction on your personal freedom,
you won't be allowed a weapon either but that is the tradeoff. 

If you want to own guns then you should accept the fact that you risk having
your head blown off in the middle of the night by a SWAT team. Just as the
car has introduced the risk of being killed in a trafic accident the gun has
introduced new risks. If society dosen't like the risks then it can opt
to ban the technology. 

If you want to own a gun because you have some kind of personality problem
and you need to prop up your ego then 


		Phill