From: Michael Lorrey (mike@lorrey.com)
Date: Wed Dec 16 1998 - 13:59:22 MST
Michael Scarazzo wrote:
> ---Samael <Samael@dial.pipex.com> wrote:
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Michael Scarazzo <mscarazzo@rocketmail.com>
> >
> > >First, defense contractors under a libertarian society will more
> > >carefully select to whom they sell weapons, because they will be held
> > >responsible if another party uses their weapons against other
> > >Americans or against other customers.
> >
> > And gunshop owners will be held liable when the guns they sell are
> used to
> > kill people?
> >
> > Held liable by who, by the way?
>
> No gunshop owners will not be held liable for the actions of a single
> person with a single gun, or even a few guns. To use the cliche, guns
> don't kill people. People kill people. A single person buying small
> arms does not present a direct threat to large numbers of people and
> other business/money making organizations, regardless.
>
> They will be held liable by their customers. If someone sells weapons
> of mass destruction to a party whose intentions are those other than
> defensive, other customers will not buy from those companies, because
> they would be contributing to a direct threat to their own existence
> by continuing the business relationship. In addition, defense
> contractors in the US would be free to pursue other lines of business,
> such as making vehicles for the consumer/commercial industries.
I doubt very much that a customer who wants to buy effective weapons is
going to not use one manufacturer, or take action against him because that
manufacturer does business with someone the buyer does not like. Not only is
it not logical, it is also letting the buyer assert proprietary priviledges
over the producers product, so unless the buyer pays a producer to NOT sell
such products to certain parties, there should be no expectation of
preferential treatment. If you don't like a gun makers sales ethics, then
buy his entire output from him, if he's willing, and distribute them by your
own terms. If you aren't willing to pay up, then you need to shut up. How do
you know that the manufacturer would want to sell a gun to someone who is
such a busybody?
Mike Lorrey
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