> but you can’t just have a tank, fighter jet, or ICBM.

?? You 100% can in the USA it just costs a lot of money.

Operational military ones? Tanks that are basically very dense semis don't really count for this point.

No he’s just doing an aaaaaactually comment. Wouldn’t be HN if someone didn’t.

You cannot own tanks or jets capable of using military ordnance in the US (and I’d wager nearly any country that has anything resembling rule of law). You can own decommissioned ones that are rendered militarily useless.

There are private citizens that own and operate all of those things.

Pray, what private citizens operate ICBMs?

> Analogous would be how we have very limited regulations on guns

This is strictly limited to the US. In most advanced democracies you need a stack of papers to get even a small handgun.

Right but a gun can be had and presumably a nuclear warhead can’t, so even in countries who call the wrong sport “football” the law takes into account that some tools need to be regulated more than others.