Nothing But Good

clipped from esr.ibiblio.org Americans are still out there eight months later buying firearms like mad - and I think this can be nothing but good in the longer term. Let me count the ways: 1. More firearms in civilian hands means a larger constituency to oppose restrictive firearms laws and regulations. 2. More firearms in civilian hands means more people carrying concealed, depressing crime rates. 3. More firearms in civilian hands means the balance of coercive power shifts in favor of the people and against government, making some of our nastier potential futures just that much less likely. 4. Higher demand means more firearms-manufacturing capacity in the future, leading to lower prices and a likelihood that the previous three virtuous effects will be sustained. Thank you, Barack Obama. You didn’t intend this good result, but then I suspect that pretty much all of whatever little good you end up doing will have been unintentional. I’m grateful for it anyway.