Is the main purpose of a gun, to cause the death or threatened death of another person? If so, how do we justify their easy access?
by 
steelhamster@aol.com
ANSWERS: 9
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The sole purpose of any type of firearm is to cause death. Many are used to hunt game for food, which I would call legitimate use. As far as I can see the only use of a handgun is to kill people. I suppose in a military or law enforcement sense this can be justified. As for easy access, I don't think access to firearms is particularly easy in most countries. The one country that springs to mind which has easy access to guns is the United States of America. The right to bear arms is so firmly entrenched in the American psyche that the chances of change are about the same chance that a snowball would have in a furnace. So I would say that the only justification is a 'We've always had that right and nobody's going to take it away from me.' attitude.
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As a person you feel safer with a gun. Just like as a country you feel safer with nuclear weapons. You know that there is less chance someone will try to kill you if they know you can also kill them.
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The purpose of a gun is to cause harm or death, by firing a hot piece of lead at the chosen target. People are giving their lives in Iraq right now to defend a way of life that includes arming yourself against your fellow citizens that have, in certain jurisdictions way too easy access to firearms. I don't get it.
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Exact statistics are hard to come by, but well over a million crimes per year are prevented in the USA just by showing the criminal your weapon--I've done it myself once with a gun and a time or two with a knife. So the main purpose is as a threat. Heck, even a lot of police have never had to fire except down at the range. Having it, touching it, or pulling it are enough to make most people take orders.
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There is no moral reason to justify easy access.There should be much stricter laws banning them.A gun in the hand of someone that is terrified could cause that person to accidentally shoot and kill someone.That could lead to murder.It would make no sense to have them remain in society since they only lead to injury or death if used.
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Yes. For self-defense.
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The main purpose of a firearm is to be at least an equalizer if not provide advantage in a situation that would otherwise have a predetermined victim. "False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that has no remedy for evils except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes." - Cesare Beccaria, as quoted by Thomas Jefferson.
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more shots are fired at targets for sport marksmanship than used in crimes. Target shooting is a HUGE sport. I have fired 10s of thousands of shots at targets and have never fired ONE shot at a person. I have used a handgun 3 times in self defense and have not had to fire a shot.
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1. Hunting 2. Self Defense. 3. It could be a unique historical artifact (What I would do for a Webley .455)
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