[ctdonath]

We do from time to time invoke a draft, forcing men to fight for their lives using tools they do not own and do not understand because they are prohibited from owning & practicing with them in peacetime. Skills with large expensive crew-served equipment is understandably hard to come by and justify a standing army, but small arms are affordable for most (if new models were legal, M16s would cost about $700) and would better prepare prospective draftees. When (not if) the next draft occurs, we face calling up & sending men who not only couldn't own & practice with internationally standard front-line soldier's weapons (M16 or AK47) but would be severely punished if they tried, and will rely totally on the government supplying what they could have brought.

(Yes, some M16s et al are legal, but they're at least 28 years old, cost >20x what new retail price would be without prohibition, supply is extremely limited (hence the price increase), and are smothered in regulative "red tape".)

Ya know, it's kinda like making healthy youth pay into a healthcare system that they likely won't benefit from for a long time to come (if ever; most will put more in than they'll get out): giving people access to products (physical or financial) designed to save their lives in short-notice crises is arguably so important as to be compulsory.