# Should US citizens be allowed to have heavy weapons? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 14, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-citizens-be-allowed-to-have-heavy-weapons/644072 "2012-12-14T23:45:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-citizens-be-allowed-to-have-heavy-weapons/644072/41 "2012-12-16T00:45:10Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I thought that things like SAM’s were manufactured by private industry, not by “the government”. I should be able to buy whatever I want from a private company. The Stinger FIM-92 is made by Raytheon, not by “the government”. Well, it’s also worth forty thousand bucks a piece, which puts it way out of your price range for self-defence against rogue attack helicopters. If I were you I’d look into surplus Soviet stuff - first generation SA-7s, maybe a Polish-made ZSU, that kind of stuff. Cheap crap, but rugged and more than efficient enough to cover most home applications. Glad to be of help :). ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-citizens-be-allowed-to-have-heavy-weapons/644072/42 "2012-12-16T00:52:49Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > So, in fact, you did say something about acquisition. That’s what “get” means. > > But that said, I am baffled by your apparent belief that if you can just acquire something legally it’s never illegal to possess it. Again, this stuff is not hard to find; in a matter of minutes I almost at random found state after state that make it specifically ILLEGAL to possess things classed as Destructive Devices. They are illegal to possess in California, New Jersey, Missouri… To repeat, if you have enough money to afford to buy such cost-prohibitive weapons and you want one, being banned in New Jersey, etc. is not an obstacle to getting it because you can get it from your residence in Pennsylvania. But that’s not what this is about. This whole thread is about whether or not someone should be allowed to own them, and I stated, correctly, that if you can afford them you can own them. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-citizens-be-allowed-to-have-heavy-weapons/644072/43 "2012-12-16T00:55:18Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Well, it’s also worth forty thousand bucks a piece, which puts it way out of your price range for self-defence against rogue attack helicopters. > If I were you I’d look into surplus Soviet stuff - first generation SA-7s, maybe a Polish-made ZSU, that kind of stuff. Cheap crap, but rugged and more than efficient enough to cover most home applications. Glad to be of help :). Thanks. I thought they were around the 33k range, which I could certainly afford. I wonder about importation duties on the SA-7 though. The government would probably want to help out the home-grown missile companies. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-citizens-be-allowed-to-have-heavy-weapons/644072/44 "2012-12-16T00:55:24Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > I think the average person seriously underestimates the raw number of ex-military types out there who have a good, scoped, bolt-action hunting rifle, _and know how to use them effectively enough to hit center-mass at 300-400 yards_, that could bring just about _any_ government to its knees in less than a week if they were so motivated to do so. > > The exception would be a government, or government-like-proxy (a military junta) willing to saturation nuke _any_ area where such insurgents are active. Is this a statement actually that an american government could not achieve suppression of a domestic insurgency except by use of nuclear weapons? I am afraid you americans are very naive about these things. I do not think an american government would be less competent if it chose than the government in Algiers. It was never brought to its knees even though many of the insurgent members had in the 1990s very good military training from its own forces. I understand I think now the market for that strange movie that was released. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-citizens-be-allowed-to-have-heavy-weapons/644072/45 "2012-12-16T01:12:05Z")
I’m still searching for online references one way or another about the legality of owning Stingers, but it occurs to me that all the defense companies that manufacture military ordinance might be under contract to sell them only to the US government or approved parties. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-citizens-be-allowed-to-have-heavy-weapons/644072/46 "2012-12-16T01:15:04Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Well, it’s also worth forty thousand bucks a piece That sounds way cheap. Is that all in for both the launcher system and a missile? Also, they have a shelf life. If you buy one you have to use it within a certain period of time; I can’t recall it is was the warhead or the launcher itself that wears out or what it was, but I know they only last five years or so. They’re surprisingly finicky weapons. So if you’re going to start your insurrection, you have to buy your Stingers close to the big day, you can’t stockpile them for long. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-citizens-be-allowed-to-have-heavy-weapons/644072/47 "2012-12-16T01:35:54Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > That sounds way cheap. Is that all in for both the launcher system and a missile? No idea - I was going by Wiki. I also don’t know if that’s a strict cost per unit or the bulk rates they give the Army, or even the full cost of the program divided by the number of units shipped. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-citizens-be-allowed-to-have-heavy-weapons/644072.md?page=2)