Constitutional Law

Arms vs. pirates

A cruiseship captain issues handguns and the crew uses them to fend off Somalian pirates. Two warning shots in the air and the pirates (who had AKs) bailed out, surprised that the crew actually had guns. (I find this story receiving little play in the US media. I guess that a person held hostage by pirates makes for a string of emotional stories, whereas Long John Silver bailing out after a few warning shots does not).

But the Maersk Line still says no to defensive arms aboard:

"?Weapons onboard could lead to a dangerous escalation and raise a number of multi-jurisdictional legal issues,? the company said in a statement as it continued with its inquiry into the Maersk Alabama hijack, when US Navy personnel shot and killed three of the pirates who were holding the ship?s captain hostage."

Full post as published by Of Arms and the Law on April 29, 2009 (boomark / email).