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Guns are an interesting case. Thee are many tools (eg computers, knives, hammers) that can be used to kill someone, but most of the uses of them are not killing

by rmc 14y ago

Guns are an interesting case. Thee are many tools (eg computers, knives, hammers) that can be used to kill someone, but most of the uses of them are not killing people (more tomatoes are cut with knives than people killed). I'm not so sure about guns. Are most of the instances of guns being fired being used to kill/hurt someone (or practice to kill/hurt someone)? Perhaps it's the European in me that can't wrap my head around the American idea of guns. To me "Guns are dangerous" seems obvious. It's an interesting cultural difference.

nkorth 14y ago
I don't agree with it, but I think the American idea of guns is like what you said about knives: hunting guns are okay (like how kitchen knives are mostly used to cut tomatoes), but there's a line drawn somewhere for "assault weapons" (nobody cuts tomatoes with a switchblade). Personally I think that although this idea makes sense for knives, guns cannot be justified because they have no purpose other than killing (hunting is still killing).
- b6 14y ago
  > guns cannot be justified because they have no purpose other than killing Suppose someone is trying to kill you or your loved ones. Do you really not see how a gun could be beneficial? Do you really not see how killing someone could be the right thing to do?
  - nkorth 14y ago
    Yeah, I know my view is idealistic... Having a gun for self-defense may be reasonable, but killing is never "the right thing to do" except as an absolute last resort in such situations.
  - rmc 14y ago
    Do you really not see how widespread gun ownership can be harmful? On the front page is a story about someone recovering a camera from a thief. One comment says that confronting the thief could be dangerous, since they might have a gun ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5505464 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5505464 ). Here in Ireland if some low level criminal stole my camera, they wouldn't have a gun when I meeting them in a café.
- rmc 14y ago
  My hunch is that hunting guns are a minority (or small percentage) of all gun firings, whereas with knives, it's the other way. The illegal killings (with knives) are the (small) minority.

by rmc 14y ago

nkorth 14y ago

I don't agree with it, but I think the American idea of guns is like what you said about knives: hunting guns are okay (like how kitchen knives are mostly used to cut tomatoes), but there's a line drawn somewhere for "assault weapons" (nobody cuts tomatoes with a switchblade). Personally I think that although this idea makes sense for knives, guns cannot be justified because they have no purpose other than killing (hunting is still killing).

b6 14y ago
> guns cannot be justified because they have no purpose other than killing Suppose someone is trying to kill you or your loved ones. Do you really not see how a gun could be beneficial? Do you really not see how killing someone could be the right thing to do?
- nkorth 14y ago
  Yeah, I know my view is idealistic... Having a gun for self-defense may be reasonable, but killing is never "the right thing to do" except as an absolute last resort in such situations.
- rmc 14y ago
  Do you really not see how widespread gun ownership can be harmful? On the front page is a story about someone recovering a camera from a thief. One comment says that confronting the thief could be dangerous, since they might have a gun ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5505464 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5505464 ). Here in Ireland if some low level criminal stole my camera, they wouldn't have a gun when I meeting them in a café.
rmc 14y ago
My hunch is that hunting guns are a minority (or small percentage) of all gun firings, whereas with knives, it's the other way. The illegal killings (with knives) are the (small) minority.