NICK DENTON is pooh-poohing claims that the D.C. sniper is a terrorist, which he attributes to gun-rights folks’ wishful thinking. He thinks it’s a typical nutjob, but argues that even if guns create more murders it’s worth it to have an armed citizenry:
[T]here is still an honest case to be made for the Second Amendment. It goes something like this. Guns do result in more fatal murders, but that is a small price to pay to guarantee freedom. The balance between the individual and government is ultimately determined by force. All the rights — to privacy, a fair trial, of free speech, to property — are underpinned by the power of individuals to organize against overmighty government, demonstrate, and ultimately take up arms. At a time when we are giving central government more powers, the counterweight of a people’s militia is more important than ever. Even as a madman runs amok in the DC suburbs.
Well, the criminological evidence on guns causing crime is, at best, mixed — even the opponents of widespread concealed-carry have been reduced to arguing that it doesn’t reduce crime, having largely abandoned claims that it will produce rivers of blood in the streets. But Nick makes an important point: rights can have costs, and still be worth it. That’s true of all rights, but many people seem less willing to admit this in the gun area. Antigun folks refuse to admit that the costs might be worth it, while many gun rights advocates deny that the costs exist. I tend to think that the costs, to the extent that they exist, are minor — but I don’t really care. Just as I’d support First Amendment protection for pornography even if someone could prove it led to more sex crime, I would support Second Amendment rights even if someone could prove they produced more gun crime. In both cases the alternative — an overpowerful government — is worse.
At the moment, Bush’s stance on the Second Amendment eases my mind somewhat over fears of tyranny. No tyrant, or would-be tyrant, champions an armed populace, the number-one antidote to tyranny — and the American public is growing better-armed all the time.
UPDATE: Meanwhile, Andrew Stuttaford notes anti-gun-rights advocates trying to cash in, and calls them “vultures.”
ANOTHER UPDATE: Rand Simberg emails:
I’d be a little more sanguine if the actions actually matched the words. I haven’t seen Ashcroft’s Justice Department actually do anything to support their stated interpretation. None of the Clinton-holdover Justice positions in ongoing court cases have been changed, as would be required if they really believed what they said.
Meanwhile, I’m watching a CNBC story by Pat Dawson which is, ahem, asking, whether the sniper will “reignite” the gun control debate. The story itself didn’t suck, but the presentation made clear that some folks at CNBC are doing more “hoping” than “asking” in this department.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Oh, hell, now they’re shilling for Michael Moore’s movie, and interviewing him. And as the interview progresses, the bias is pretty obvious. So I guess I knew where that was going. My wife, who knows a lot about Columbine, thinks Michael Moore is an idiot.
Later: Well, Brian Williams is still sucking up. Moore’s off on a riff about how “we armed Saddam Hussein” and it’s all our fault. This is pathetic.