[stepurhan]

Originally Posted by Giligan

Correction: Irresponsible persons who have guns usually end up shooting the wrong person. Firearms are not the "evil, horrible killing machines" that most people believe them to be. They're like a hammer. Or a screwdriver. A tool is what guns are.


And, like with any tool, you can put it to the responsible, logical role it was meant for. Use it wrongly, and yes, someone might get wounded, or killed.

To follow up on Trumgottist's comments. Not only is a gun specifically designed for the purpose of shooting things, it also allows you to do damage from a distance. If I want to kill someone with a hammer or screwdriver I have to get right up close and personal. With a gun I can easily kill someone from a long way off, giving them less chance to realise my hostile intent and take defensive action.

To turn it the other way can you come up with a useful purpose for the gun. By this I mean one that provides a positive benefit (in the way a hammer and screwdriver enable you to build/fix things) At one time hunting would have been necessary for survival but that's no longer the case for the majority of the populace so that's no longer a valid use in the context.

Originally Posted by Jazhara7

What about bows? Aren't they made for shooting things too? Yet there are fewer reports of people being shot by bows, despite the fact that you probably don't even need a licencse to carry a bow, even in the US (at least you don't need one in Germany). There's people hunting with bows, and the modern ones can deliver a strong killing blow.

However, most people just shoot at straw targets.

There's something about guns that's different, it seems.


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Actually I think you have a good point. The big difference between the two is probably the skill involved. Firing a bow accurately takes practice and firing a bow any distance requires physical strength (depending on the draw of the bow) Firing a gun only requires someone to point the barrel in the right direction and flex a finger. The aiming and distance is largely down to the skill of the gunmaker. It is also very hard to get off a bow shot at point blank range.

That said, given the undoubted lethality of bows as demnastrated throughout history, I'd say it would be wise to limit the right to jsut carry one around the streets with you. It would be difficult to control the ownership of a weapon that is relatively easy to construct from common materials though.