The military industrial complex sells arms—to make money.
The map is not the territory—the map is the cover story.
Of course they sell arms to make money.
Winchester makes arms to sell money. Remington sells arms to make money. Ruger makes arms to sell money. I buy from them.
We as Conservatives don’t have a problem if people purchase firearms here in the USA to protect themselves.
Sometimes those firearms get stolen and used in crimes. Sometimes the legal purchasers give them to others to commit crimes. Sometimes the legal purchasers use them to commit crimes themselves. Sometimes those people legally sell those firearms to other people who may commit crimes.
Same things happen in towns. In states. In countries. Internationally.
IMO, you either believe in the concept of people having weapons to protect themselves or you don’t.
If you don’t, then that goes all the way from your own household all the way up the the international stage, and all arms sales of any kind to anyone, including those manufactured for your own country, become illegal.
An arms ban.
If you do believe that people should have weapons to protect themselves, then you should be able to have a weapon in your home, your country can have weapons, and you assume other countries can have weapons for the same purpose.
Are there people out there who are not responsible enough to own weapons? Yes. Without question.
Are there countries out there who are not responsible enough to own weapons? Yes. Without question.
The question is how are weapons-responsible people or countries distinguished from weapons-irresponsible people or countries?
How do we define “responsible”? And who does the “distinguishing”? And if there are standards, how do you know you can sell arms to a “good guy” who won’t turn into a “bad guy” tomorrow, or have their arms stolen, purchased from them, or given away.
Should we sell arms to the UK? Sure. They are responsible.
How about Iceland? Or Australia? Should we be selling nuclear submarine technology to Australia? Sounds like we are going to.
How about Somalia? Should we sell them arms? Or Argentina? Or Iran? Or Cuba? Probably not.
The questions are: Should people/countries be allowed to acquire arms, yes or no? If the answer is no, that makes it simple: nobody can manufacture or sell arms even for self defense, because they might fall into the wrong hands, or those hands may change from good hands to bad hands.
If the answer is yes, then who decides? A Democrat administration? The EU? The Russian government? Or the Chicoms?