Guns, Terrorists, Crime and The People

I know that I am about a year and a half late on this topic, but this posting came up as I googled.

Your statement:
That handgun is designed to kill people. That's about it. Other than acting as a paperweight in the "in box," there's not much else it can do effectively.

Is patently wrong. Just like saying that a bow and arrow is designed to kill people and that's it, or the same for a rifle. The argument could be taken all the way to rocks, sticks, cars, bats, etc.

A handgun allows someone to extend their will, and exert their force on an object. Just like a bow and arrow, just like a rifle, just like a rock.

The preliminary difference between it and the other things I listed is that it fits in the palm of your hand, or in a pocket.

A handgun does not kill people, the operator does. A rifle does not kill people, the operator does.

A firearm, or any weapon, is designed to extend the will of the operator, to exert their force on some other object. You could just as soon walk up to someone and beat them to death with a chair or stab them with a knife.

I will say it one more time -- a handgun is an object that is designed to extend the will of the person using it, allowing them to exert force on another object.

Handguns are generally only as dangerous as the person holding them.