From: G
Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2016 7:57 PM
To: walter block
Subject: Questions on Libertarianism

Hi Dr. Block,

I have emailed you before about a question I had on libertarianism and you provided a very helpful answer. I’m a huge fan of your work on libertarianism. I had some more questions that I thought of and wanted to ask you if you have time. First, in a libertarian society, would there be any form of gun laws? My analysis is that there would not be because there is nothing about buying a gun that violates the NAP. No background checks or licenses would be necessary. Guns would just be another commodity on the market. The only exceptions in my opinion would be kids because they don’t possess enough reason to know what they are doing and possibly criminals, although I’m not sure here. What do you think on this? And along the same line, would kids be able to purchase drugs?

Also, are drunk driving laws consistent with libertarian law? I think they would be because by driving drunk, you are threatening others in a way. But then driving while sleepy would also have to be against libertarianism, but that doesn’t seem right.

I look forward to your analysis.

Thanks again, G.

Dear GH:

On guns, see this:

Block, Walter E. and Matthew A. Block. 2000. “Toward a Universal Libertarian Theory of Gun (Weapon) Control,” Ethics, Place and Environment, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 289-298;

http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/theory_gun_control.pdf; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228127780_Toward_a_Universal_Libertarian_Theory_of_Gun_(Weapon)_Control_A_Spatial_and_Georgraphical_Analysis?ev=prf_pub

(my co author and I discuss, here, not guns, but atom bombs, who’s power cannot be confined to the bad guys)

I support paternalist laws targetting children, whether for guns or drugs; I only oppose paternalism for adults.

I agree with you on drunk driving. It is a threat, and should be banned. It undoubtedly would be banned were there private roads. See on that, this:

Block, Walter E. 2009. The Privatization of Roads and Highways: Human and Economic Factors; Auburn, AL: The Mises Institute; http://www.amazon.com/Privatization-Roads-And-Highways-Factors/dp/1279887303/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336605800&sr=1-1; available for free here: http://mises.org/books/roads_web.pdf; http://mises.org/daily/3416; http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/radical_privatization.pdf; audio: http://store.mises.org/Privatization-of-Roads-and-Highways-Audiobook-P11005.aspx; http://www.audible.com/pd/Business/The-Privatization-of-Roads-and-Highways-Audiobook/B0167IT18K?tag=misesinsti-20; http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=bf16b152ccc444bdbbcc229e4&id=6cbc90577b&e=54244ea97d

http://www.sanfranciscoreviewofbooks.com/2017/09/book-review-privatization-of-roads-and.html

However, matters are far more complicated on governent roads. Merely being drunk, even while driving, is not a per se violation of the non-agression principle. On the other hand, I do regard is as a threat: similar for texting, sleeping behind the wheel, although the latter is more difficult to catch.

Here is more of a bibliography on guns:

Adams, 2012; Anderson, 2012; Aziz, 2012; Baldwin, 2007; Block and Block, 2000;  Block and Barnett, 2001A, 2001B; Block and Block, 2000; DeCoster, 2013; DeMar 2012;  Ebeling, 2015; Halbrook, 1970[2012]; Kates, 1979; Kleck, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1997; Kleck and DeLone, 1993; Kleck and Gertz, 1995; Kleck and Sayles, 1990; Kline, 2013, 2014; LaRosa, 2013; Liberty Crier, 2012; Lott, 1998, 2007; Macolm, 2012; Malnik, 2012; Masters, 2014; McHale, 2016; McMaken, 2015; McMaken, 2013; Mirror, 2010;  Ostrowski, 2003; Palmer, 2016; Paul, 2018; Peters, 2012; Rappoport, 2013A, 2013B; Reynolds, 2007; Shughart, 1999; Simpson, 2015; Sowell, 2012; Stormfront, 2012; Tucker, 2012, Vatic, 2012; Wenzel, 2013; Williams, 2013. Wright, 1998.

Adams, Mike. 2012. “School ‘gun free zones’ are death traps: Why we must allow qualified school principals and office staff to carry concealed.” December 16; http://www.naturalnews.com/038356_gun_free_zones_schools_concealed_carry.html#ixzz2FZh4OWZd; http://www.naturalnews.com/038356_gun_free_zones_schools_concealed_carry.html

Anderson, William L. 2012. “Progressives, Guns, and the Assault on Truth.” December 21;

http://archive.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson352.html

Aziz, John. 2012. “Gun Control? No, Drone Control.” December 18;

http://archive.lewrockwell.com/rep3/drone-control.html

Block Walter and William Barnett II. 2001A. “Arm the Coeds,” November 10. https://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block10.html; http://mises.org/Community/forums/p/5192/69550.aspx#69550

Block, Walter and William Barnett II. 2001B. “Required Gun Possession the Answer to Attacks,” Loyola University New Orleans The Maroon, November 30, p. 9; “Arm the Coeds,” https://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block10.html; http://www.free-market.net/rd/997213159.html

Block, Walter and Matthew Block. 2000. “Toward a Universal Libertarian Theory of Gun (Weapon) Control,” Ethics, Place and Environment, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 289-298; http://www.walterblock.com/publications/theory_gun_control.pdf;

Ebeling, Richard. 2015. “Gun Control and the Holocaust.” October 27;

http://www.targetliberty.com/2015/10/gun-control-and-holocaust.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TargetLiberty+%28Target+Liberty%29

Halbrook, Stephen P. 2012[1970]. “Gun Laws,” The Libertarian Forum, October 15;

http://mises.org/daily/6321/Tyranny-and-the-Monopoly-of-Arms

Kates, Don B, ed. 1979. Restricting handguns: the liberal skeptics speak out! Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.: North River Press

Kleck, Gary. 1986. “Evidence that ‘Saturday Night Specials’ not very important for crime.” Sociology and Social Research 70:303-7.

Kleck, Gary. 1988. “Crime control through the private use of armed force.” Social Problems 35:1-21.

Kleck, Gary. 1991. Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America. N.Y.: Aldine de Gruyter.

Kleck, Gary. 1997. Targeting Guns: Firearms and their Control. N.Y.: Aldine de Gruyter.

Kleck, Gary, and David J. Bordua. 1983. “The factual foundations for certain key assumptions of gun control.” Law & Policy Quarterly 5:271‑298.

Kleck, Gary, and Miriam DeLone. 1993. “Victim resistance and offender weapon effects in robbery.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 9:55-82.

Kleck, Gary, and Marc Gertz. 1995. “Armed resistance to crime: the prevalence and nature of self-defense with a gun.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 86:150-187.

Kleck, Gary, and Susan Sayles. 1990. “Rape and resistance.” Social Problems 37:149-62.

Kline, Audrey D. 2013. Gun Prohibition Increases the Demand for Guns.” October 8; https://mises.org/library/gun-prohibition-increases-demand-guns

Kline, Audrey D. 2014. “Gun Control in Nazi Germany.” May 9; https://mises.org/library/gun-control-nazi-germany

Lott, Jr., John R. 1998. More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Lott, Jr., John R.  2007. “The All-American Gun” March 12

https://www.lewrockwell.com/lott/lott50.html

McHale, Tom. 2016. “Real Facts About School & Other Mass Shooting Defense Tactics.” May 16;

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/05/no_author/weve-learned-stop-schoolmass-shootings/

McMaken, Ryan. 2015. “Gun Control: Fashionable Prohibition for Modern Lawmakers.” October 9; https://mises.org/library/gun-control-fashionable-prohibition-modern-lawmakers

Ostrowski, James. 2003. “The Why of Gun Ownership.” May 9;

https://mises.org/library/why-gun-ownership

Palmer, Tom. 2016. “In wake of Orlando, gays should arm themselves: Otherwise, in gun-free zones like the Pulse nightclub, we’re sitting ducks to maniacs and terrorists.” June 13;

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/tom-g-palmer-wake-orlando-gays-arm-article-1.2671568

Paul, Ron. 2018. “More Gun Violence: Let’s Look Beyond Politics.” February 21;

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2018/02/ron-paul/more-gun-violence-lets-look-beyond-politics/

Peters, Eric. 2012. “If Guns Are ‘Bad’….” December 20;

http://archive.lewrockwell.com/peters-e/peters-e279.html

Shughart II, William F. 1999.  Review of Lott, Jr., John R., More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998,  Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 65, No. 4, April, pp. 978-981

Simpson, Peter, L.P. 2015. Political Illiberalism: A Defense of Freedom. Transaction Publishers

Sowell, Thomas. 2012. “Invincible Ignorance.” December 18;

http://archive.lewrockwell.com/sowell/sowell123.html

Stormfront, 2012. “Why Switzerland Has The Lowest Crime Rate In The World” December 24; http://www.stormfront.org/forum/t934456/

Wright, James D. 1988. “Second thoughts about gun control.” The Public Interest, pp. 23-39

http://www.nationalaffairs.com/doclib/20080708_1988912secondthoughtsaboutguncontroljamesdwright.pdf;

http://www.nationalaffairs.com/public_interest/detail/second-thoughts-about-gun-control

1:57 am on February 1, 2019

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