JEFF JACOBY’S recent opinion piece was instructive in a way he may not have intended (“Inner angels vs. innate evil,” Op-ed, Jan. 2). He mentioned regulations that made it illegal to carry box cutters on airplanes after they were used in the 9/11 terrorist hijackings. 

I wonder if, at the time, there was an outcry from law-abiding box-cutter enthusiasts who feared that their rights were being trampled on. Or, if the rich and powerful box-cutter lobby trotted out their tired “box cutters don’t cut people; people cut people” slogan while their accountants tried to calculate the impact in lost profits.