Michael Froomkin - U.Miami School of Law wrote:
On Fri, 4 Oct 1996, Dale Thorn wrote inter alia:
Now, for those folks who oppose the personal ownership of firearms, or at least "really dangerous" firearms, I'd like to know exactly what's the difference (in principle) between the above "...high-quality encryption widely available so that the private sector can protect itself from criminal or...", and making firearms widely available?
The difference is obvious: crypto does not put holes in people.
Excuse me for saying this, but the above simplistic statement is no more valid than saying "...but I only drove the car, I didn't shoot the bank teller...", or, "...I only built the plant that made the V2 rockets, I didn't fire any...", or, "I support my local police (who shoot people sometimes), but I don't believe in killing.", and so on.