: Let it be known right now that I have no allegiance to Charlton Heston, the NRA, or any gun manufacturer. The real moral issue that should be discussed is exactly what I mean by "education." Teach not just gun safety but RIGHT and WRONG. True, a gun's purpose is to kill, but it was the use of the gun to kill that gave you the right to express your opinion today. I did not accuse you of bearing allegiance to anyone. What I accuse is that any "moral education" on guns, without implications towards getting rid of them altogether, is hypocrisy. Let people buy something that is used to kill, but educate them to not kill anyone with it?
:As for the misuse of guns I addressed earlier, a gun's purpose is not to kill indiscriminately or in an act of murder. Any use of a gun for these or several other purposes is a misuse. Guns are made to take the lives of enemies in time of war, to protect one's self when the situation calls for it, to hunt for sport or necessity, or for recreational purposes. These are the things for which guns are designed. Anything outside of these uses(ie. indiscriminate shootings, murders, robberies, rapes, suicide,etc.) are misuses.
No. You would not need an Uzi to enjoy shooting bottles, or hollow-point explosive slugs to hunt. Or 12 gauge shot-gun for sports? The SOLE PURPOSE OF LETHAL FIRE ARMS IS FOR KILLING, KILLING ONLY.
Discrimination on "who we should kill with it, and who we should not" is entirely a secondary issue concerning the use of guns, determined by the subjective judgement of the owner of the gun(whether or not his judgement is legal, moral or 'reasonable').
People can go for a drive as hobbies, or they may use it 'recreationally', or they may enjoy messing around in cars. People may enjoy car-racing. But the primary purpose we have for cars is transportation. We don't say cars are made for 'recreation' or 'sports' or 'racing', do we?
:THESE misuses also lead to casualties, just like you described the automobile misuse above. But because of these misuses we don't ban cars. Because cars have another purpose - transportation you say? Guns have other purposes. I listed some of them above. Anything can be misused to create casualties. Some things are just easier with which to do it. Guns can be dangerous - if used incorrectly. TEACH RESPONSIBILITY!!
Again you confuse the "what it is" and the "what it HOPEFULLY should be" with guns. People may have various uses for cars. But cars are every-day necessity. They are used for transportation. We don't ban cars because they are not used for killing. It would be a misuse if cars were used to kill.
Guns, are made for killing. They are designed to kill. You want recreation? Wanna shoot off bottles? Fine, we can always use rubber bullets or non-lethal BB guns, no? Guns may provide special uses or serve in recreational purposes. Then it ain't impossible for the manufacturers to design NON LETHAL guns, which serves for recreational purpose ONLY. Is this not true?
Then WHY do they sell slugs and teflon-coated bullets and automatic/semi-automatic machine guns? We use something like AK-47s for recreation?
:But all this aside, if you live in a place where all guns can be illiminated completely, I would really like to know where you live. It is ablolutely absurd to think that anyone could do away with every gun, or even most guns.
You think so, because your country has become what it is through the excessive use of fire arms and gun violence. I'm not trying to condemn the American people or anything here, but since so much fire arms have been distributed along the people all through your history, you people do not know WHERE to start if you wish to disarm people. Besides, how can you, if so much of your people do not realize WHAT'S WRONG IN OWNING GUNS?
Outside the countries where the people are engaged in continuous war fare, America has the highest rate of gun violence. Our country hardly ever experience gun violence at all. Because, we never gave people guns in the first place.
:Besides, the only ones left with any guns at all would be the ones who possess them illegally. Criminals we call them. Criminals, by definition, are ones who break the law. The ones responsible for the violent crimes commited in this country fall under this category. You can realistically keep the guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens. You can not, however, keep guns out of the hands of, using any number of laws, people who won't follow any of them.
Like, the ORDINARY high-school kids who gunned down fellow students in their cafeteria? Were they vicious, violent criminals?
Your point is indeed interesting. You say no matter how strict the law is, criminals manage to get guns, and they use them. That I truly agree. You if guns were banned, the only people left with guns will be criminals. That statement would have some meaning if guns REALLY WERE EFFECTIVE in preventing crime. Well, some stats show that, just like the death penalty is utterly ineffective in preventing crime, owning guns will not prevent crime. Criminals BY DEFINITION have tendencies to break the laws and commit crimes. Gang members continuously battle each other with guns. If guns had any prevention capabilities, logically, gangs and criminals owning guns would have to be afraid of each other and limit their use of guns. That's not how it is, is it?
:And, finally, I don't need any Justice's interpretation or opinion of what he thinks of our US Constitution. You and I can both read. Take another look at it. "... the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Infringed, by the way, does not mean revoked. To the framers of the Constitution, this would have been unheard-of. Infringed here means tampered with, or interfered with. For anyone to try to force me to give up any of my rights, or to force me to live the way he/she thinks I ought to is immoral and unethical.
And this, friend MDG has properly refuted.
Guns are to be strictly limited, and are to be used and controlled only through military purposes. Yes, guns will not go away in a snap. 200 years of private sales of guns made what America is today - gun heaven. So, it will take about that much time and effort to do away with guns in your society permanently. Most guns which criminals use are obtained through the illegal circulation inside the private markets. These markets exist, of course, because any one in America is free to go to a gun store and buy one. Things will be significantly different if the process of gun circulation is strictly limited and controlled.
America will have to gradually shut down the private sales of guns. This is not an easy task. And it becomes harder if people indulge in those "right to bear arms" crap. No education will stop gun violence. Only if the access of guns is totally shut down will these instances disappear.
None.
