If guns kill people, do cars, knives, cigarettes, bathtubs, ladders, etc kill people too?

Question

Or should we also "ban" them?? More people die in their bathtub each year than those that get shot. (War excluded)

Meoquitoes kill more people each year than cancer, aids and heart disease combined. Why aren't we doing more to BAN mosquitoes

Mosquitoes.

And if you want to ban guns, I have to ask you, why do you want to take away my right to protect myself?

If you say guns are "made" to kill, then you must want to ban ALL knives and bows and arrows as they were made to "kill"

You can't beat a woman who shoots.

If prohibition worked OH SO BLOODY WELL in the 1920's and "back alley" abortions were so horrible (because abortion was illegal and banned), why do you anti gun folks think banning guns and taking them away from LAW abiding citizens is going to work???

If you don't like guns, don't own one.

If you don't like guns, don't own one.

Desert Quenn, spoken like a TRUE liberal.

And I'm not kidding about the bathtubs and mosquitoes.

www.armedcitizen.com

MY POINT IS 'DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TAKING AWAY MY GUNS." And that includes my AUTOs AND Semi-autos.

http://www.gunowners.org/fs0404.htm

Answer 1

If alcohol and cigarettes get "sin" taxes, why not condoms? Most condoms used are by unmarried couples.

How many crimes DIDN'T occur because some scumbag was afraid of getting blown away? How many crimes DIDN'T happen because someone was armed?

How did we win W.W. II without guns? How come judges and politicians have been able to carry concealed weapon for decades? How come police use GUNS to protect us? Clearly, guns are our friends.

Answer 2

Yes, it's true that there are a great number of things that kill people, including natural disasters, wars, heart failure, cancer, and a million other things.

The difference between all of the things that can kill you and a gun, is that the gun (particularly handguns and assault weaponry) is designed for the purpose of killing.

Other than killing (or the threat of killing which can be used as a form of defense) and perhaps acting as an expensive and brittle hammer, they are useless.

You see, a car, it has a specific purpose which is not to kill, but to transport. If used improperly, or if circumstances happen which cause it go out of control, then yes, it can kill people. Due to the great number of people who use cars worldwide, the statistics for these accidents tend to lead people to believe that they are only killing items, but this would be incorrect.

Knives might be arguably closer to a gun than most of the other things on your list, as they can (and historically have been able to) kill people and animals quite easily. The difference between a knife and a gun is that a knife has a whole bunch of other uses. In fact, in Wilderness Survival class (a class in biology that I took in high school) we were taught that the number one survival item you will want to have with you if you are caught in a bad situation is a knife. It can be used to help you start a fire, to signal a plane, to set traps for food, to fish, to basically survive in nearly every environment.

Sorry, I am a bit biased as I'm not a fan of handguns. I honestly feel that they should be removed from our society entirely.

If you want to claim that they are good for defense, let me tell you that they are not the best. Shotguns are considered the number one home defense weapon. Shotguns don't have the massive killing range (a bullet from a simple .22 caliber handgun can go through more than one wall to kill those nearby) as they scatter their shot, they are frightening to a burglar due to the massive open barrel that they get to see when the meet you while attempting to burgle your house, and they aren't as easily concealed so burglars will have a hard time wandering around with them without being noticed.

I hope that this has answered your question.

Buddhadan

Answer 3

That is the problem, the anti gunner thinks that the simplest answer is the best, well it's not, banning all guns will not remove them from society or stop the killing. The problem that need addressing is how we are raising our young, do you let the T.V. raise them or do you take the responsibility and teach them the value of human life, and to respect the power that a gun instills into the person using the weapon. I have a lot of things that I don't need to survive, several "assault weapons" included, our society allows us the luxury of owning such items, they could have just as easily have been a number of other things but that is what I like. I was taught at a very young age to respect what a gun can do and to respect other people, this is what we need to do in our schools it's all about recognizing the dignity of the people that you are surrounded by.

Answer 4

There are a number of good answers proceeding me. I feel that the key point is being missed however.

Guns are a tool, like any other tool. They have many purposes. They are collectables, used for sports and hunting. They are however also the ultimate expression of self deterimination. The ability to say I will not fall victem to a crime. The ability to say the Gov can stick it where the sun don't shine.

Whatever you say however including simple facts like in 04 according to the CDC guns were used more often for suicide than homicide or the simple fact that 5 gallon buckets not only killed more people than guns over the last 10 years the victems of buckets were almost always toddlers. That is meaningless to gun control freaks because of one key mistake. They are not talking from logic. They scared. Notice the recurring theme. They fear, you need look no furthor. That fear is one born of insecurity in thier own ability. So the schism is really one of those with confidence in themselves and those without such. A person's stance on gun control can be a window into deep dark insecurities. For example.

Pro-gun attitude.
Give me a gun and I'll fear no others with guns. The mere wish to own one and to keep ownership legal shows confidence in your own ability and a wish to determine your own fate.

Gun/other banner.
People shouldn't have guns cause they could hurt me or others.

Pro-gun reply. Not if you have a gun. If you shoot them first how are they going to shoot you? If they know you have a gun would they DARE harm a loved one of yours?

Gun banner then changes the subject and talks about children. Which is ironic as the lower the percentage of gun ownership the higher the accident rate among children.

The second consistant aspect of gun banners is to wish to ban other things. Cigs included. They also tend to be conformists. The most striking thing is the actual belief that the Police can possibly protect them. It is truely rare that a cop happens into a problem in time to do anything but take photos. Murders happen in seconds usually. Calling 9-11 takes minutes and sometimes it's an hour or more before a cop arrives. Even if your next door to the cop shop it'll be at least 5 mins before anybody arrives. Cops are human beings. They cannot time travel. They cannot exceed the laws of physics. They are often tied up with something else when the call goes out. They hear the same things over and over again and the urgancy is just not there. Cops risk thier lives enough, to barrel thorugh traffic blindly is a risk they are not willing to take. Too much chance of killing themselves and an innocent. Besides whatever is going to happen will happen before they can arrive. Why put lives at risk?

A personal example. My ex called me at work (which was about 5 miles away from home.) She called the cops before calling me. The door was wide open and she thought a burgaler was still in the house. I raced home and beat the cops to my house by a good 3-5 minutes. This was in a good suberb with low crime and low traffic. I had to battle city traffic the first few minutes of my drive until I fought my way into the suberbs. Caught at least 2 red lights only one of which I was able to safely run. If the response time is that bad in the suberbs where the cop shop was less than 1 mile from my house, what would it be like in the big city areas? Of course when one showed up about 5 cops showed up.

The police are primarily there to scare people away from committing crimes with patrols and to catch people after the fact. They cannot do much for most crimes until after it's all said and done. This myth about cops actually stopping crimes is a dangeorus one. It is also one that most gun banners cling too rather desperately. They don't want to consider the possibility it could happen to them. That no matter how much you sanitize the world around you something will wander in from the wild and remind you that human beings are still just that and not all human beings are good people.

Answer 5

I don't wish to belabor this point Cindy, but guns don't kill people, people do. People also drive cars that kill other people. They carry knives with which to stab other people. They smoke cigarettes to kill themselves and a few second hand smokers. They slip in bathtubs, fall off ladders, and occasionally kill another person.

Those pesky mosquito's, on the other hand, are the real villains. Who do they think they are. Hell, at the rate they're going, we won't have anyone left to shoot, stab, run over, pull a ladder out from, or in who's face to blow smoke.

Is your point to allow guns to be owned by law abiding citizens? Than, I agree. Why the hell didn't you just say so? I did!

Answer 6

They can come up with hundreds of laws regarding ownership of guns..they can put all kinds of bans on them...they can put all kinds of prerequisites on ownership..It means nothing except to the law biding, responsible citizen.. If the common low life with no morals or conscience wants a gun he can get one on the streets in a hearbeat...And " if " this country stopped making guns altogether, they would get them from other countries (as they do now ) Instead of blaming the makers of the guns, which many do...try looking at the REAL problem..It's the people who have declined so low with morals and values that a human life means nothing to them. And if they didn't have a gun, they would find some other means of killing. That's just their way of life.

Answer 7

Guns are not responsible for the death of another human being. It's only the means by which the killing was accomplished. Anything can be a weapon if placed in the hands of someone who intends to use it that manner. If guns were completely banned world wide, people who find other (equally destructive) means. Its the nature of man. Intent is the killer.

Answer 8

The government needs a scape goat that incites fear to gain more power.

Guns, drugs, terrorists, diseases, and natural disasters have effectively stood in for the Jewish people in Germany during the holocaust.

They that can give up Essential Liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither.

--Benjamin Franklin

Edit: Doctors kill more people every year than guns. This is just from "malpractice".

If you think guns are bad or dangerous, don't get one.
If you think that drugs are bad or dangerous, don't use them.
If you think that gay people are sinners or bad, don't be one.

But for God's sake, stop trying to make crimes of things that are not crimes.

Answer 9

Agreed.

Cars kill more Americans every year than guns. Cars are not protected by the Bill of Rights. Should we make driving or possession of an automobile illegal?

Doctors are the 3rd leading cause of death in the US, behind heart disease and cancer. Should we outlaw doctors, too?

Two quotes, one liberal, one conservative.

“You know why there's a Second Amendment? In case the government fails to follow the first one.” - Rush Limbaugh

“The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.” - Thomas Jefferson

Answer 10

OMGosh! Cindy! I just fell in love with you! You're a Beautiful young Lady with intelligence! Thank you so much for airing the facts! I'm with you 100% and I only wish that the morons that guzzle the kool-aid of extreme left wing lunatics will take the time to study the facts, thus realize that our country will slither into a tird world country if we ever allow the treasonous tort lawyers, polluted politicians, and ludicrous lobbyists... to ban our guns, of which are our most necessary means of protecting our nation's sovereignty from them.

Answer 11

In the '80's, a few kids in Boston loaded bleach into "super soakers", allegedly injuring people. There was much talk of banning squirt guns. What will they ban next? Pointy sticks. I am a professional soldier, and I am here to tell you, damn near anything can be used as a weapon. As a martial artist my favorite weapon is the staff, because there is usually a stick handy. Are the liberals going to ban brooms next?