Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Make Gun Companies Pay Blood Money [View all]Starboard Tack
(11,181 posts)I'll stick by my 99% (the 99.9% was yours) are designed and manufactured for the purpose of killing.
You can try whittling away at that all day long, but it won't change the facts.
I'm not arguing for Bambi and I have no issue with hunting for food, but the guns used are still designed to kill. The OP is about taxing gun makers. It's not my OP, but I can see some merit there. I would probably only tax the manufacturers of semi-automatics, which are designed and marketed as the best killing "tools".
How a gun is used, be it for target practice, competition shooting or to hammer in a nail, has nothing to do with it's design and it's function, as intended by the manufacturer.
Self-defense is about staying alive, you are right. Using a gun for self-defense is about being prepared to kill in order to stay alive. I'm not condemning that, but let's be honest about it. If I use a gun, as it was designed and intended to be used, in self defense, I am probably going to kill someone or something.
You can't exclude handguns from the equation, just because they are euphemistically described as PSDs or SD tools. They are the predominant weapon used in homicides and suicides in the US.
The manufactured purpose of a PFD is to save life. It accomplishes that by floating on water.
The manufactured purpose of a handgun is to kill efficiently. That is accomplished by aiming and squeezing the trigger.
If you show, brandish, wave or point your gun at someone, you have taken the first step toward killing them. If you are not committed at that point, then you will probably lose, especially if your opponent calls your bluff. I'm sure you are aware of this, so let's not bullshit ourselves into thinking a gun on our person is just about SD. It's about being prepared to kill and if you leave home wearing a gun and you're not in that frame of mind, then you're living very dangerously.