Boom

I am going to strike what I imagine may be a dangerous stance: Pipe bombs should be illegal. At the very least, we should have strict regulations regarding who can possess these weapons and there should be some sort of national registry for owners of pipe bombs. Tragedies such as the bombing in New York City earlier this week might have been prevented by just knowing who has the pipe bombs.
I know. There are those out there who would suggest that pipe bombs don't kill people. People kill people. Certainly there is a point to be made about intent and malice aforethought, but by limiting the number of pipe bombs in our midst, it seems likely that we could discourage bombing altogether. I hear you asking, "What about the responsible pipe bombers?" And, "What about those who use pipe bombs for sport?" While I respect the tradition we have in our great nation of blowing things up, I will say that it is time that we really examine our need for pipe bombs. There is a faction that will want to rise up and demand their rights as pipe bombers to use them for fishing and small game, but is this really worth the carnage we experience every year from pipe bombs?
At the very least, we should have a discussion about what it means to be a responsible pipe bomber. If you own a pipe bomb, you should keep it locked up, especially if you have kids in the house. Children have an innate fascination with things that go boom, and so we should do everything we can to wait until they are of age before we introduce them to explosives. To that end, we should have mandatory pipe bomb safety classes for those who insist on maintaining their pipe bombs. An educated pipe bomber is a responsible pipe bomber.
I know what you're saying: "Hey, my house is full of pipes, but I'm no pipe bomber." Fair enough, but it's a slipper slope. Add a few barrels of gunpowder to that equation and suddenly you have a dangerous mess on your hands. There are those who say our founding fathers did not expressly forbid the ownership of pipe bombs in our Constitution, so what right do we have to forbid them from owning pipe bombs? This matter will have to be decided, eventually, where all of these kinds of questions go to be decided: social media.
Until then, we will simply have to wait and hope that those who own pipe bombs will use them in ways that protect and defend this great land of ours. I may not own a pipe bomb myself, but I respect your right to complain about it.