From: "Clayton E. Cramer" <clayton_cramer@dlcc.com>
Newsgroups: alt.politics.clinton,alt.politics.democrats.d,
	alt.politics.usa.republican,alt.rush-limbaugh,alt.fan.rush-limbaugh,
	alt.society.liberalism,alt.society.conservatism,alt.politics.libertarian,
	talk.politics.libertarian,talk.politics.misc,talk.politics.guns,
	alt.law-enforcement
Subject: Re: Right to carry cuts crime
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 13:19:59 -0800

Mark Gibson wrote:
>
> Marie (mmarie@pacbell.net) wrote:
> >the line at guns? Why not allow me to own a hand grenade to lob
> >at an intruder?
>
> Why shouldn't you be able to have a hand grenade, especially
> if you live on a large farm or ranch where you can safely lob
> live grenades to your heart's content?  If someone handed you
> a case of hand-grenades and you knew you couldn't dispose of them,
> would you use them to kill innocent people?  No?  Then why
> shouldn't you be able to have them?
>
> BTW, in many states you CAN own hand-grenades.  Federal law says
> you must pay a $200 tax per grenade (destructive device), but does
> not prohibit you from having them.

I wouldn't be keen on having hand grenades for sale at the corner
sporting goods store.  They do make an effective bank robbery tool,
because most banks are big enough to wipe out everyone behind the
counter without endangering the robber.  Hand grenades have been
used a bit in the Bay Area (in spite of serious restrictions, such
as NFA rules and California laws against them) for bank robberies
and for at least one assassination attempt a couple of years ago.
(It was a reactivated training grenade, and it fizzled.)

At $200 each, I would guess that a handgun makes a better self-defense
weapon -- more cost-effective.  A hand grenade, on the other hand,
is very nearly ideal for bank robbery -- expensive, but a terrifying
effective way to get what you want.  It's not cost-effective for
strong-arm robbery or liquor stores (where the cash return is too
low), and only useful in an enclosed space at least 40 meters in
diameter.

If you've pulled the pin, no bank guard or cop with half a brain
is going to shoot you and risk having it go off before everyone
can escape the destructive radius.  On your way out of the bank,
with all that money, the robber throws the grenade to eliminate
witnesses, disrupt phone lines, and start a line of ambulances
tying up traffic on the way to the bank.