And what exactly are guns FOR if not for killing stuff, then? They make expensive riveters, and that's the end of their practical applications in the non-killing-stuff field. Don't get me wrong, I like carrying around a huge metal stick that makes a really loud noise, jumps about, and makes thing several hundred yards away fly apart quite a lot, possibly more than most, but you have to recognise that the whole point of a gun is to kill things with it. It's not just a fancy, rather heavy and dangerous toy, it's a weapon. For killing people. Nothing else. I have reasons for prefering to possess weapons myself (such as eventual armed revolt), but you can't go living under the illusion that guns are perfectly innocent devices that are not there expressly TO do all sorts of illegal ****. I am under no illusions that, say, my machete is much other than a maiming implement (out here, at least. We don't get much underbrush in farm country). That doesn't mean that it needs to be confiscated (yeah, just try to take it from me. Go ahead. I just trimmed the sheath so I can get it out faster), but I have no reasonable expectation that anyone would listen to me if I denied that the only thing I could do with it other than play with it is hack at things. A gun is even more specialized- it's useless should you ever need to slaughter a hog (well, you never know...), and you can't go cut down bushes with it. Just shoot stuff. Propel tiny little lead slugs into things, which makes most types of animals die.
