The comparison to automobiles is interesting because this is another example where we do sacrifice freedoms to enhance safety. At the state level we have licenses, registrations, speed limits, mandatory seat belt laws, insurance mandates, etc. At the federal level we have safety standards. Not sure it's terribly relevant just an interesting parallel.
It's especially interesting because a lot of automobile safety revolves around mitigating damage once an incident occurs, and there's a fairly concrete number (IIRC around $3 million) for how much money it's worth spending to save one additional life. Neither one would be considered even remotely acceptable in counterterrorism.
