Are private companies allowed to build nuclear weapons?

Question

under the second amendment?

If the government can have them and the people can't, this could lead to oppression.

Answer 1

A nuclear weapon requires the use of "special nuclear material".  The use and possession of "special nuclear material" by private companies in the U.S. is performed only under license with either the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or the Department of Energy.

The NRC oversees the civilian nuclear power industry, including mining, processing, enrichment, and fuel fabrication.  The NRC does *NOT* involve itself in the realm of nuclear weapons.

The DOE oversees the U.S. government's use of "special nuclear material" for a variety of purposes, including the manufacturing of nuclear weapons.  Private companies, under contract to the DOE, are hired to do this work.  I suppose, one could argue that these private companies are building nuclear weapons, however, they do not have the means to deploy the devices as weapons.  Sufficient safeguards are in place to ensure the only people who are able to deploy a nuclear weapon are those members of the military who are trained and authorized to do so.  Even if somebody within one of these companies was insane enough to try to circumvent the procedures and use a weapon for some personal reason, there are many checks and balances within the system that it wouldn't be possible.

Besides, deploying a nuclear weapon is a non-trivial decision and every rational human being recognizes it.  In my opinion, it is a weapon of last resort.  Under the U.S. system, there are plenty of other ways for business entities to avoid oppression.

Answer 2

Not only are private companies not allowed to build nuclear weapons, they are also not allowed to patent new ideas related to nuclear weapon technology.  The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 regulates both the civilian and military uses of nuclear materials.  In general, you will also find that private companies do not have the ability to do all the things required to produce a nuclear weapon (at least one that would work reliably) since a lot goes into getting the fissile materials as well as engineering and building a nuclear weapon, not to mention being able to test whatever might be built.

So, you pose an interesting question, but few people would consider it oppressive not to be able to build their own nuclear weapons!