Bowden on Gun Control

I think Thomas Bowden has done an admirable job of succinctly laying out ARI's stance on gun control, particularly in highlighting the contextual nature of the position. In a few short paragraphs he effectively addresses the idea that in a civilized society men delegate the use of force to the government, yet they still must be able to defend themselves in those rare times of emergency when the government cannot respond in time -- and then he goes on to show how these facts must shape the law; both in facilitating self-defense and in setting its reasonable boundaries (e.g. prohibiting personal nuclear weapons).

Of course establishing where to draw the exact line is difficult, as it is in all such cases, and would require much legal and technical knowledge, but I think the guiding principles he proposes are sound. (Incidentally I think that similar issues would crop up throughout modern life, so that even in a perfect world, a vibrant but rational legal establishment would be a sine qua non of a properly functioning society.)