Thoughts on gun control ...
I've often heard it said that, if we are to regulate firearms, we'll have to regulate every tool which could be used to kill. Cars, hammers, knives, etc. It's supposed to be the "gotcha!" counter of the pro-gun movement.
A car can kill, yes, but it's used 99% of the time - my arbitrary but probably true statistic - with the intention of transportation, not destruction. Cars are vital in our world, getting us from point A to point B. Different kinds of cars can be equipped to serve different purposes, from your regular minivan to an ambulance.
Hammers are about as old as human civilization, and they can be used to kill, too. We even had war hammers in the middle ages. Today, we think of hammers a little more modestly. They will be used 99% of the time (again, arbitrarily) for something other than destruction and mayhem. Imagine trying to build a house without a hammer.
Knives can certainly be used to kill. That's been true throughout history. I'll lower my estimate here, guessing that 95% of us will use knives with non-lethal intent. Knives can be used for everything from cooking to crafts and beyond.
Guns? With guns, it's pretty simple. You point the barrel at a target, you pull the trigger, and that target is either killed or seriously damaged. That's it, and that's not even getting into the capabilities of larger firearms. A gun has no other purpose as a tool. You could maybe argue that they're legitimately useful for hunting if it's not for sport (which I view as more destruction). Otherwise, most of us no longer live in times where coyotes, Redcoats, and wolves menace our homesteads.
Of all those, which of those sounds most in need of regulation? Setting aside that cars are already regulated, I guess. Hint: it's the frickin' guns!
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