Should Weapons Be Allowed Aboard Ship?

It seems to me the lot aboard ships are pretty well trained in everything from repairs to fire fighting, I see no reason why responsible use of weaponry can't be part of their training. I'm not suggesting we all have deck guns, but a semi-automatic .50 and a .223 would likely go a long way in slowing down pirates.

Firearms should be allowed on ships, period. We are allowed to keep weapons on our ship, they are locked in a gun safe along with the cartridges and the Captain has the only key. It is our Constitutional right to have firearms so don't let the anti-gun lobby take them away from us, hold fast to your dwindling rights! I would gladly shoot at pirates, this ship is our home. If someone tried to take over my house I would defend my property, the same goes for my ship. Mahalo, jhs

"Constitutional right"?! What constitution? Oh, you must mean the US constitution! I'm being disingenuous, of course; I knew what you meant, being an NRA Foundation contributor myself. But my point is that I wouldn't assume the gCaptain audience is strictly a US one. The other point I'd like to make is that the poll was initiated by recent piracy incidents, which are extremely rare in US waters. The US Constitution is, alas, not a factor, PARTICULARLY since so many merchant vessels are convenience-flagged anyway. Our nation's little internal gun control debate is completely irrelevant to this discussion. Back to the topic at hand, however: This is a decision for the vessel owner, surely?