Stephen Harding wrote:
I've had a pistol permit for years, and to get one, I've
undergone background checks from local, state police and
FBI.

I am automatically considered such a potential danger to
society because of my interest in "plinking" with a hand
gun,

Yet to filter potential terrorists from entry to the country
via a 15 second on average, scan of finger prints is thought
to represent a serious breach of civil liberty.

Your handgun serves only one purpose: to kill or seriously injur a human. Same
with machine guns. If you own such a deadly weapon for self defense, the fact
remains that if you must use the gun, it will be to either kill or severely
injur the person you believe is going to attack you. It is normal that a
government woudl want to verify your motives for the gun and also test your
ability to judge whether pulling the trigger is necessary or not.

When a tourist enters the country, it isn't the fingerprints that are
important, it is what is in his luggage. Unless, of course, the deadly weapons
he will use to cause harm to your country are freely available in your country.

Please note that there have been plenty of terrorists in the USA, especially
the ones who go in a shooting rampage in schools etc. All done with "made in
the USA" all over (the person, the victims and the weapon).


The thing is that no matter how strick you become at airports, terrorists will
always find a way around. You cannot stop a determined terrorist. And there
are many terrorists you don't know about (like the guy who blew up the
Oklahoma city building).

The real "war on terrorism" is stopping whatever a countrie does that
irritates people so much that they take to terror to fight back.
Unformtunatly, for short term politicians, the results of such a policy don't
come soon enough. But it is the only way to really stop it.