Differing views

I just had a discussion with my brother about a similar sort of topic - guns in general and the demise of the assault weapons ban. Here's the email I wrote in response to some information he sent me:
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You're absolutely correct, numbers can be finagled to say anything anyone wants them to! My problem with guns, however, is not how they stack up statistically with other types of accidents & deaths but the fact that a gun is designed to do only one thing - kill. It's true that lots of people do stupid things and have all kinds of fatal accidents in cars (or with horses or whatever) but cars are not designed solely to kill or damage. Cars (and horses) can be used in those ways, but it's not the sole purpose for the invention of the car.

Guns, however, have no purpose other than destruction and I find it disheartening that so many people feel the need to have them. I know that guns aren't the cause of violence in our society but I think that they definitely raise the stakes in violent conflicts. If the only weapon at hand is a knife, it's possible (for various reasons) that a violent conflict won't end in a fatality. Although the presence of a gun doesn't ensure fatality, it raises the possiblity MUCH higher than the presence of a knife or no weapon at all.

All that said - I know that you are a responsible gun owner and are one of the few people I trust to handle & store them safely. I love you bunches & bunches, even though you're a gun-totin' guy :)
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That's pretty much the gist of my arguments against guns - any type of gun. It's actually my position on any sort of weapon whose sole intention is to kill/maim/destroy. We can hurt ourselves quite a bit without 'things' designed to make the hurt more intense and the suffering more prolonged. I won't argue against the right to keep and bear arms but I do question the basic premise - that carrying a weapon makes our world a safer place.