At 06:17 PM 9/18/97 -0500, John Kelsey wrote:
Sure. We get the same right to bear it as we have to own rocket launchers, machine guns, or flame throwers--none. The second amendment hasn't protected our right to possess those things, which pretty clearly fall into the realm of its direct intentions--why would it protect our right to use crypto, which isn't even that clear cut?
Actually, in many jurisdictions, flame-throwers are NOT illegal. Legally defining the difference between a "flamethrower", an "acetylene torch", a "cigarette lighter" a "portable gas grill", and various other common fire-producing items is even stickier than legally defining an "assault weapon" or a "Saturday night special". Besides, flamethrowers are not yet the weapon of choice for drug dealers, terrorists, child pornographers, and muggers, so most otherwise anti-2nd amendment legislators haven't thought to make them illegal. (Ever hear of a drive-by flamethrowing?) Besides, you can make your own flamethrower out of a push-button butane lighter (the kind that makes a spark to light the butane) and one of those pump-up pressure sprayers available at Home Depot or Sears, as long as it has a metal wand/nozzle assembly. All you need to do is attach the lighter to the wand in a manner that prevents liquid from the nozzle from dripping on your hand, drill the nozzle out so it produces a stream instead of a mist, and fill the sprayer up with gasoline. Pump it up, and you have an untraceable (if you buy the materials with cash) short-range riot suppression tool for less than $30, including the gasoline to fill it. If you want to get really nasty, mix some styrofoam in with the gasoline so it starts becoming sticky. (Can you say napalm?) Of course, making the gasoline too viscous will reduce its ability to be sprayed, so experiment before using in a critical situation to determine the optimum balance between desired burn characteristics and sprayability. DISCLAIMER: The above information is presented for educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal advice, consult the local authorities before constructing your flamethrower. IANAL. Misuse of the preceding information can result in death or serious injury. "Fire is cool, Beavis." "Yeah, uh, cool, huhuhuhuh." Jonathan Wienke What part of "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" is too hard to understand? (From 2nd Amendment, U.S. Constitution) PGP 2.6.2 RSA Key Fingerprint: 7484 2FB7 7588 ACD1 3A8F 778A 7407 2928 DSS/D-H Key Fingerprint: 3312 6597 8258 9A9E D9FA 4878 C245 D245 EAA7 0DCC Public keys available at pgpkeys.mit.edu. PGP encrypted e-mail preferred. Get your assault crypto before they ban it! US/Canadian Windows 95/NT or Mac users: Get Eudora Light + PGP 5.0 for free at http://www.eudora.com/eudoralight/ Get PGP 5.0 for free at http://bs.mit.edu:8001/pgp-form.html Non-US PGP 5.0 sources: http://www.ifi.uio.no/pgp/ http://www.heise.de/ct/pgpCA/download.shtml ftp://ftp.pca.dfn.de/pub/pgp/V5.0/ ftp://ftp.fu-berlin.de/pub/pc/win95/pgp ftp://ftp.fu-berlin.de/pub/mac/pgp http://www.shopmiami.com/utopia.hacktic.nl/pub/replay/pub/pgp/pgp50/win/ RSA export-o-matic: print pack"C*",split/\D+/,`echo "16iII*o\U@{$/=$z;[(pop,pop,unpack"H*",<> )]}\EsMsKsN0[lN*1lK[d2%Sa2/d0<X+d*lMLa^*lN%0]dsXx++lMlN/dsM0<J]dsJxp"|dc`