[rt]

The recent Connecticut massacre got me thinking about gun control. I remembered a chapter in Robert Murphy’s book “Chaos Theory” where he shows how a libertarian/stateless society could work. Starting at page 35 he tackles the issue of gun control. To secure contracts, individuals would have to have insurance. The insurance company would be held financially responsible for the damage the individual causes. Premiums might be higher if an individual keeps lots of guns. Premiums for mentally sick people might also be higher. I think insurance companies would do some kind of background check before offering insurance to a person. In conclusion, in a stateless society, it’s likely that only responsible people can have guns. Crazy people would be discouraged from having guns because of the higher premiums.

If we think that in a libertarian society, there might be some kind of gun control, shouldn’t we also think about the implementation of gun control laws, even if exercised by the government now?
I really don’t know what to think about this. What are your thoughts?

(http://library.mises.org/books/Robert%20P%20Murphy/Chaos%20Theory.pdf) p. 35

[derosa8]

The main problem with gun control being exercised by the government now is that to the extent that it actually attempts to CONTROL gun ownership, it violates free citizens’ right to self defense. If you must undergo a 2 year training course and pay extra fees [or other stipulations] in order to purchase a handgun, then there is less of chance that you will be able too. Therefore, there is a greater chance that you would be unable to defend yourself/family from a violent attack. The government does not have a right to strip citizens from a right to self defense.

Here is a paper I thought was quite good in defending private gun ownership: http://home.sprynet.com/~owl1/guncontrol.htm

[joconnor]

Private murder is much less of a problem than state murder. A private murderer will probably even suffer some substantial discomfort as a result. Public murderers just get retirement checks (check out Lon Horiuchi, Bill Clinton, George Bush, pick one).

If you want to disarm someone, start with those in the employ of the State.

[Author]

Posts