[AngelinaTheElf]

Originally posted by Tattila the Hun
Not sure about arms, they could punch you and stuff. With fists, of course.

Now, armored bears are cool. No, they're not. Pullman sucks.

WRT arming bears, it depends on the kind of armament. Giving them normal guns is obviously not fair, as they lack opposable thumbs. At the very least they would require highly modified weapons, perhaps shoulder-mounted shotguns like the plasma-caster used by the Predator. I am not sure how such a weapon could be triggered or reloaded, though. The bear would need a continuous human escort to keep it loaded, and very few bears have the kind of money needed to hire a manservant. A right nobody can afford to exercise is hardly a right at all.

OTOH, recent advances in technology make more unconventional weaponry a possibility in the coming decades. I am thinking here of knee-mounted kinetic generators, compact lithium-ion batteries and any number of energy weapons. Lasers are a possibility, as are microwave pain-rays and DEMP cannons for destroying the many electronic-warfare devices employed by backwoods critters today. As technology progresses even farther, full-fledged "bearborgs" are just around the corner.

Aside from the initial cost of installation, these systems would be self-maintaining. Said initial costs could be government-subsidized at first, and paid off in a short term of service by the bears receiving modification. INS in particular could really use patrol bears. Those damned Mexicans might sneak right past a minuteman, but one look at a good American battle-bear would send them running back to their taquerias. Makes me feel wildly patriotic just thinking about it.