Tripping through the Way-Back Machine, I found this April 2018 article by Nicholas Kristof, one of my favorite Liberal (Anti-Gun) writers.
Opinion | How to Win an Argument About Guns - The New York Times:
You liberals are in a panic over guns, but look at the numbers. Any one gun is less likely to kill a person than any one vehicle. But we’re not traumatized by cars, and we don’t try to ban them. It’s true that any particular car is more likely to be involved in a fatality than any particular gun. But cars are actually a perfect example of the public health approach that we should apply to guns. We don’t ban cars, but we do work hard to take a dangerous product and regulate it to limit the damage.(Emphasis Added: Read the whole article to put this paragraph in the perspective of its author.)
The comparison suggests that since we've found ways to make cars less dangerous, we should be able to make guns less dangerous, too.
Well, that's just silly.
Although Nicky (who perhaps doesn't keep or carry firearms) conflates the two mechanical devices, he elides over the salient point: Guns are dangerous because that is their purpose.
(Perhaps he proposes to "limit the damage" by making them more difficult to ... uh ... take the safety off? Okay, that's silly, too. I was just trying to imagine what measures Nicky was thinking of which would still keep them easily available in a self-defense situation. I am confounded. You think maybe Nicky didn't think it through? )
True, cars are intended for transportation. But guns are designed to bore holes through their targets.
Usually, that target is a piece of paper or some other inanimate object. A tin can? Often, a gun is used to kill an animal ... such as Bambi or The Easter Bunny.
And once in a while a gun is used to dissuade a would-be felon from rape, mayhem, or murder. In those cases, you don't want to piss on them, you want to step on them HARD!
Personally, I've never deliberately aimed a rifle or a pistol at a living human being; in Viet Nam, I preferred the M18 Claymore Mine or the M79 Granade Launcher ... More Bang For The Buck!
(My favorite weapon was the PRC-25 Radio, with which I could call in anything from mortar or artillery fire to an air strike. Sorry, I digress.)
For personal/home defense, I have always preferred a 1911-style pistol in .45 ACP caliber. Or 10mm. Or any caliber where the first digit was at least a "4".
(more overleaf)
