Why are guns made to kill?

[JoeEllison]

Because I am not offended when a person assumes I own a gun for sporting purposes. When some ignorant person assumes I own firearms because I plan on killing someone or breaking the law in other ways it pisses me off.

Ranb

Hmmmm... how much of a problem is that, really?

 

[Ranb]

.....Ranb, what do you think the intentions were of the people that made the first guns? What do you think guns are most often used for?

The inventors of early firearms made them primarily for warfare and hunting.

These days in the USA the vast majority of civilian owned firearms are used for sport and recreational shooting. While it is the criminals that make the news, everyday thousands of gun owners use their firearms in non-violent ways. Many of the innovations by firearms manufacturers are intended for recreational shooting.

Ranb

 

[Ranb]

Hmmmm... how much of a problem is that, really?

Well it is a personal problem actually. I just want to know more about the attitudes towards firearms on this forum. Merely discussing certain firearms on JREF can lead to sexual harassment on the forum. Some members here will claim that certain guns can have no sporting use just because they are so ignorant about firearms in general.

Ranb

 

[JoeEllison]

Well it is a personal problem actually. I just want to know more about the attitudes towards firearms on this forum. Merely discussing certain firearms on JREF can lead to sexual harassment on the forum. Some members here will claim that certain guns can have no sporting use just because they are so ignorant about firearms in general.

Ranb

"Sexual harassment"?!?!

 

[littlehulkster]

You can do many different things with a gun. One of the most notable features, however, is that it has the potential to kill. So when you pull a gun out in front of someone, it's not likely that their first reaction will be: "oh, will there be a race!" But more likely, "uh oh, is this person going to threaten me?"

You could say the same thing about knives. If you pull out a knife in front of someone, I really doubt they're going to think you have a mango that needs peeling.

 

[Mobyseven]

I see this statement all the time here. "Guns are made to kill." Why do you think this is true or not? While some firearms are clearly intended to be used to kill humans (M-16's, AK-47's), others (electric free pistols, silhouette pistols, target rifles) are clearly intended for sport shooting only.

Why isn't it possible that a gun can be made for something other than killing? Thanks.

Ranb

You are correct. Not all guns are specifically designed to kill people. Indeed, cap guns do very little, aside from making a noise.

Of course, I have already pointed out that not all guns are intended to kill humans myself. Fact of the matter is, the majority (by a huge margin) of guns are designed to kill humans. Of the ones that are not designed to specifically kill humans, the majority are designed to kill something, which means that they still have the capacity to kill a human. Of the ones that aren't designed to be fired at living creatures, many still have the potential to be lethal if they are fired at a person. And then there are the guns that are, in most situations, non-lethal.

So when you get down to it, for all intents and purposes, guns are designed to kill. That's what they were invented for, it's what they've done for most of history, and the fact that there are now some types of gun that could be considered non-lethal is really immaterial considering that, for one, those guns are in the minority by a long, long way, and for two, those aren't the guns that we're talking about.

If you want to nitpick to an incredible degree, well good for you. If you want, the next time I say that guns are designed to kill remind me about this thread, and I'll apologise and admit that only 99.9% of guns are designed to kill, what a grevious error my mother never raised me correctly excuse me while I go flagellate myself and roll around in a bath full of salt.

 

[Ranb]

"Sexual harassment"?!?!

Here are examples of the Central Scrutinizer’s personal attacks for merely posting about firearms or gun control. When I requested that these attacks stop and why I was being harassed, TCS said it was because I was strange. Great excuse for this behavior I’d say.

“In Ranb's case, it's which state will allow him to legally marry his 50 BMG rifle.”
“Will you pay the $200 or give up your girlfriend?”
“Do you have some sort of bizarre sexual fetish about this gun?”
“But you do have some sort of bizarre fetish with this gun. I just figured it might be sexual.”
“Do you sleep with your 50 caliber rifle? Do you masturbate while writing about it? I think so.”
“Perhaps they didn't know that you have a sexual fetish regarding 50 BMG rifles.”
“What is your bizarre obsession with this 50 BMG thing? Is it sexual? Do sleep with a gun?”

When I posted about TCS’s behavior in unflattering terms, the posts were moved to the Abandon all Hope section. TSC's reaction to my post was; "Woo-Hoo!!! I get my own thread!! It's all about me!!!"

When I asked the admin to take some action, two of the offending posts were marked with; “Do not use personal attacks to argue your point. Several of your posts are bordering on sexual harrassment which breaches the Membership Agreement.”

People on JREF have also accused me of attempting to break the law merely because I said I was going to cut down a shotgun barrel to make a pistol. Even after explaining how to get ATF approval some clowns here are just too prejudiced to understand that what I was doing was legal.

Ranb

 

[Ranb]

.....Of course, I have already pointed out that not all guns are intended to kill humans myself. Fact of the matter is, the majority (by a huge margin) of guns are designed to kill humans......

So how do you determine if a gun is intended or designed to kill humans? For example, does this "intended to kill" label apply to a rifle that has never been supplied to any military or uses a cartridge designed specifically for civilian use?

Ranb

 

[JoeEllison]

So... ummmm... did you file a sexual harassment lawsuit?

The whole thing, including your part in it, seems rather silly, and your position seems less and less rational, especially considering the Internet grudge-holding. People I can't stand, I just put on ignore, and that's the end of it 99% of the time.

And, for the record, I'm pretty far from ignorant about firearms, so take it for what its worth. *shrugs*

 

[Ranb]

So... ummmm... did you file a sexual harassment lawsuit?

The whole thing, including your part in it, seems rather silly, and your position seems less and less rational, especially considering the Internet grudge-holding. People I can't stand, I just put on ignore, and that's the end of it 99% of the time......

No I did not file a lawsuit. Why does my part seem silly to you? Sexual harassment is silly to you also?

Ranb

 

[JoeEllison]

No I did not file a lawsuit. Why does my part seem silly to you? Sexual harassment is silly to you also?

Ranb

LOL, when you put it that way, the answer is "yes!"

Getting bent out of shape this way kind of confirms the "nut" part of "gun nut," which I doubt is the impression you were going for.

 

[Ranb]

LOL, when you put it that way, the answer is "yes!".....

Well to each his own. I just expect better out of most of the posters here.

Ranb

 

[Piggy]

Why are cars made to be driven?

I see this statement all the time here. "Cars are made to be driven." Why do you think this is true or not? While some cars are clearly intended to be used for driving (Accords, Miatas), others (Matchbox cars, theater props, Tonka toys) are clearly intended for play only.

Why isn't it possible that a car can be made for something other than driving? Thanks.

 

[bjornart]

I carry a folding knife with a five-inch blade. I purchased the largest knife the store had because a large knife is easier to handle with dirty hands. I use it for opening boxes, cutting tape, and so on, but I suppose in a pinch I could use it to kill someone if I was so inclined. Any tool can become a weapon. Drunk drivers use vehicles as weapons all the time, yet no one is clamouring for the government to ban cars.

What practical applications does a gun have that doesn't involve killing? Hole punch? (Target shooting is practice, not practical.)

 

[Gagglegnash]

Hi

What practical applications does a gun have that doesn't involve killing? Hole punch? (Target shooting is practice, not practical.)

Target shooting is a sport. Some target shooting is practice, agreed, but generally, that's called target practice, you see.

Since all sports are basically impractical - This man is having a HEART ATTACK! QUICK!! Can anyone here hit a line drive into left field??? - I suppose that I'd have to answer that it serves no other practical purpose. People still play impractical sports, though, for their own reasons and their own enjoyment. As for being upset that its original purpose was to kill, think about the Olympic sports.

• Archery - killing
• Javalin - killing
• Shot put - killing
• Hammer-throw - killing
• Discus - killing
• Fencing - killing
• Pole-vault - getting closer to make killing easier

Okokok - that last one was pushing it. Still, why condemn a sport because the thing you use was originally used to kill?

 

[baron]

I see this statement all the time here. "Guns are made to kill." Why do you think this is true or not? While some firearms are clearly intended to be used to kill humans (M-16's, AK-47's), others (electric free pistols, silhouette pistols, target rifles) are clearly intended for sport shooting only.

Why isn't it possible that a gun can be made for something other than killing?

All guns apart from possibly air pistols are designed for killing. That's pretty obvious. I think you missed out an important word - "people".

Assuming this to be the case, yes, some guns are not designed to kill people. That cannot be disputed.

Now we've established that, what of it?

 

[Supercharts]

Firearms can be used for Hunting for food. Deer come to mind. Wild Turkeys. Pesky rabbits in the vegetable garden.
Yes they are meant to kill.
But so far in this discussion it seems that "kill" something means humans.
Let's establish that in this discussion "to kill" means to kill humans.

 

[Tricky]

There is little doubt that the first guns were made not only to kill, but to kill humans. Surely, they were quickly adapted for the purpose of killing animals for food as well, but, being the warlike creatures we are, the military applications came first. I think you will see that many early technological improvements had anti-personnel purposes in mind as well.

Certainly, other applications have followed, but they use the basic gun model for projecting non-lethal missiles, rather than deadly ones, ranging from tranquilizer darts to paint-balls. These emphasize our newfound morality which decries useless killing, but it does not disguise the original purpose of the weapon.

This is not such a surprise. From the first discovery of pointy sticks, humans have turned their technological expertise to weaponry. It's just the way we are. The "problem" is our relatively new morality, which I believe emphasizes empathy more than at any time in history. This in turn may result from our discovery of modern agriculture, and that large, inwardly peaceful populations survive better than smaller, hostile ones. But for whatever reason, modern morality states that killing, except in defense, is now "bad", a morality I share.

And if killing is bad, then making and disseminating tools that (mostly) have this express purpose is bound to be viewed as a moral issue as well. It is almost cognitive dissonance to simultaneously reject murder, yet embrace the tools of it. I suspect that this is our old, savage morality which has not yet given up the ghost. Of course, one can respect the "beauty" and workmanship of a piece of technology, but there is no point in denying what our love affair with them says about us. We are still savages at heart, with all the lust that implies. This is simply one of the less flattering parts of being human.

 

[Ranb]

All guns apart from possibly air pistols are designed for killing. That's pretty obvious. I think you missed out an important word - "people".

Assuming this to be the case, yes, some guns are not designed to kill people. That cannot be disputed.

Now we've established that, what of it?

I should have said "guns kill people” in the OP. Anyway we have some people here who say guns are not practical for anything besides killing because all other shooting is practice for the act of killing. Or those weapons never intended for the military are actually for killing people. I would like to know more from these people.

Ranb

 

[Gravy]

Since all sports are basically impractical - This man is having a HEART ATTACK! QUICK!! Can anyone here hit a line drive into left field???

No, but I can finish him off.