The right to bear arms?

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, Al Globus wrote:
>
> On Wednesday, October 29, 2003, at 01:09 PM, victoriatangoman
>
> > Shall the citizens of the Habitats have the right to bear arms in
> > order to prtect their property and to counterbalance the power of
> > their government?
>
> Not in my colony. You're welcome to have them in yours.
>
> > What are the unique circumstances of a Habitat that would make
the
> > above proposition less likely to occur?
>
> Many countries, most with low violent crime rates, have low levels
of
> gun ownership. I suggest looking at them.
>
> > TangoMan

If you're an American, this issue is near and dear to about 1/2 of
the population! What makes you think that the NRA advocates are
going to capitulate on this issue if the Habitat is an off-shoot of
American culture and society?

If the Habitat isn't strictly American, then other societies that
aren't as wedded to the gun culture will probably influence the
design of the new orbital society.

I could see the NRA fans loving the idea of long range skeet
shooting where you can count on the bullet going for hundreds of
miles without deviation effects from gravity or air resistance. The
only limit will be the marksman's skills in aiming (spotting a
target so far away), tracking, and keeping still as they fire.
They'd love to be able to fire their gun in space, place it down,
grab a beer, sit down, pick up the binoculars, locate the target,
and then wait for it to be destroyed!

TangoMan