Should families of hostages be allowed to pay their ransom without government interference?

This is a hard question, but there are generally good reasons for not allowing the payment of ransom.

While ransom might help the person kidnapped, and it is also understandable that the families would want to do everything to help their kidnapped relatives, paying ransoms sends the message that kidnapping "pays off", encouraging further kidnappings. Additinally, it provides financial means for the kidnappers, and allows them to further their actions.