[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by Faceman: 1. Every tool is designed for a specific purpose. Axes are for cutting trees, cars are for driving to work, a TV set is for entertainment and guns are for killing/hurting people (or deer in the case of hunting rifles).

That is nothing more than your opinion, Faceman, and it is an extremely biased one at that. Guns are for shooting bullets - PERIOD!. It is up to the individual owner to decide what those bullets are fired at. I have no intention of shooting another person unless it is in self-defense, and I have NO INTENTION of hunting under any circumstances because I gain no pleasure in killing animals for sport or food.

If guns are designed JUST for killing people, then we will also have to eliminate the bow and arrow, crossbow, and many other weapons that were ALL originally designed to kill the enemy more effectively in war. Archers were once the most feared members of the enemy forces because the arrows were so efficient at killing troops from a distance. So - by your logic - we cannot deny that the PRIMARY purpose for the bow and/or crossbow is to kill people or animals (in the case of Native Americans).

Originally posted by Faceman: 3. Guns can be used for other things than their main purpose (i.e. wounding): target practice, fieldstripping contests, or hammering in a nail.

Again, the idea that a gun's primary purpose is to wound people or animals is YOUR opinion. I've already listed examples of other weapons you overlooked on that list.

Originally posted by Faceman: 4. If somebody buys a tool I assume he's going to use it as intended by its maufacturer. He's going to chop wood with the axe, drive home with his car, watch TV on his Plasmascreen and kill somebody with his gun, because that's what they're there for.

.

So then you obviously must think that *I* am also going to kill somebody with the guns I own - since that is their intended purpose.

Originally posted by Faceman; 5. a handgun is the most cost-effective, practical tool for a single person to kill another. That's why the army and the police are not driving around in professional lumber machines. And if you don't believe them take a look at the mobsters. They're also not packing TV sets and axes, but handguns.

Technically true, but that still doesn't prove that killing people is the "primary purpose" of a gun. As I said before, guns are designed to shoot bullets. There is nothing that says those bullets must be fired at another person, otherwise the owner is "misusing" the gun. Now, you DO have a stronger argument when talking about the manufacturers of bullets designed to flare out on impact in order to cause more internal damage to the target. Not much use for those in target practice (unlike hollow points, which can create a more impressive impact when fired at a jug full of water - pretty cool effect )

Originally posted by Faceman: 6. So the difference between a killing with an axe and killing with a gun is that in the first you are MISusing the tool but in the second you are fullfilling its MAIN PURPOSE.

The notion that the MAIN purpose of a gun is to kill another person is YOUR OPINION. That doesn't mean it is necessarily fact.

Originally posted by Faceman: 7. To stretch it farther. Would you have supported an attack on Iraq if Georgie had told you that Saddam had a flotillia of professional lumber machines?

Bush didn't claim that Saddam had a bunch of guns either (although the news has proven conclusively that they DO have PLENTY of them). President Bush pushed the idea that Saddam had Weapons of MASS Destruction. Even if you buy into the logic that guns are only designed to kill (despite several examples of OTHER uses for them), guns can hardly be classified as a WMD. So your argument here doesn't hold up.

Originally posted by Faceman: 8. Sadly there do sometimes arise situations were killing/wounding another person is necessary to defend oneself (armed robbery, armed burglary,...). If you deem this situation likely you should equip yourself for it i.e. buy a gun. But don't fool yourself into thinking you just bought a decorative item, you bought a tool for killing, so in case somebody wants to kill you you're first.

Wrong again, Faceman. I bought a tool for enjoyment and pleasure. I like to go target shooting and THAT is the main reason I own guns. I have been in the situation where I thought an intruder was going to try and break into my house. He was being chased by the police and drove down our driveway - which was a deadend. When he got out of his truck, he pulled a rifle out from behind the seat and looked towards our house, but fortunately decided to run into the woods instead. So I do know for a fact that I could shoot somebody if I had to, but I don't own a gun for that reason. In fact, my guns are kept unloaded. So if anybody broke into my house now, I wouldn't really have time to take the guns out of their cases, find the ammunition, load the gun, THEN shoot the person. Instead, I'll just grab a knife or whatever I can get my hands on. If the intruder has a gun, I will do my best to disarm him and use HIS gun.

Originally posted by Faceman: So again please focus on the point. You NEED guns in certain situations, BECAUSE they are different from other tools. So no more car analogies, please? pretty please?

Certainly. Just as soon as you stop insisting that the MAIN purpose of a gun is to kill another person. Please? Pretty please?