But on the other hand, there ARE people who could afford such things. And I actually argue that such is legal. Hell at one time we had pirates in the US and they had ships loaded with cannons. Now , their piracy was illegal, but their armored and armed ships were not.
Sure, but just they fact they owned such would make their activity subject to closer scrutiny. That, plus the fact that it is awful hard to hide a battleship, privately owned or otherwise. Outlaw battleships and only criminals will have battleships!
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson