For what it's worth, I'll just point out, that my little parody suggested lighter control for the prevention of ARSON, not murder.

Believe it or not, even a stupid old libertarian like me has noticed that murder is rarely committed with a bic. Arson is, however, often committed with one.

My point is that, if we want to decrease a crime, we should work DIRECTLY toward that goal.

If I want to decrease arson, I shouldn't campaign for lighter control. Instead I should work DIRECTLY toward that goal. For example, I might advocate hiring more arson investigators or tightening sentencing guidelines for arsonists or reducing property taxes (to lessen the incentive to commit arson) or whatever. Trying to decrease arson by controlling lighters won't work, but would further decrease our liberties.

The same is true for murder. Since we want to decrease it, let's work DIRECTLY toward that goal.

Kent