Commentary Magazine   Stop and Frisk vs. Gun Control  Few issues
divide self-described libertarians from self-described
conservatives quite as consistently as those related to security
and defense. As we’ve seen with the debate over the NSA’s data
collection, it isn’t just about foreign intervention either. And
the recent ruling on the NYPD’s stop and frisk tactic is the
latest episode demonstrating how far apart the two factions can
be on policing.  I’ve written numerous times in defense of stop
and frisk, and did so again after Judge Shira Scheindlin’s
legally incoherent ruling against it. Reason magazine’s A.
Barton Hinkle has written a response to one of my recent posts
on the topic as well as those of Heather Mac Donald, National
Review, and others. Hinkle’s libertarian perspective on the
issue is thoughtful and it’s a constructive contribution to the
debate, most significantly for his essential reminder that the
ends don’t automatically justify the means; when individual
liberty is at stake, the means t