All gun owners want to be killers?

Today, the Gun Guys came to my rescue. It's been a pretty busy day for me, and I hadn't really thought of anything to post, and then I read this gem from them, in which they make the rather . . . interesting claim that anyone who owns a gun wants to kill:

That’s the only reason to still own a gun in America– because you are, or want to be, a killer. That’s what guns are created for– killing. And any gun guy who says he owns his gun for "protection" is straight out lying. He (or she) owns a gun because they want to kill.

Let's analyze this . . . remarkable assertion, shall we? First, I wonder what they mean by it's "the only reason to still own a gun . . ."--was there, at one time, a peaceful reason to want to own a gun, a reason that no longer exists? What could have changed, I wonder? Go a little further along in the sentence, and we get to it's "the only reason to still own a gun in America". The implication is that even now, there are peaceful reasons to own guns--just not here. I wonder where these places are, and what is different about them.

Those are minor objections; the bigger problems come up now, with "That’s what guns are created for– killing." Actually, guns were created to expel projectiles at high speeds, hopefully with some predictability as to where said projectile ends up. Granted, being in the way of this projectile is likely to cause some health problems. This fact makes guns useful in a conflict, but to imply that guns are specialized killing machines, like electric chairs and hangman's nooses,is rather disingenuous.

This next sentence is so wrong as to deserve its own paragraph, devoted to debunking it: "And any gun guy who says he owns his gun for 'protection' is straight out lying." Got that, folks? Apparently, there is no such thing as a self-defense shooting, and no one drives off a would be assailant by merely brandishing a gun, without firing it. Neither of these things ever happen, because if they did happen even once, the argument (to use the term rather generously--I'm feeling charitable in my old age) that guns cannot be used for protection falls apart. In fact, even if no gun has ever been successfully used for protection (an obvioulsy false premise), that still does nothing to prove that people might own a gun with that intention.

Their paragraph of lies ends with this: "He (or she) owns a gun because they want to kill." Actually, I own guns because I want to live. Also, I own some of them because I appreciate their historical significance. I own them because I like to shoot--paper targets. Some own guns for collector's investment purposes. There are, in the final analysis, myriad reasons, reasons that have nothing to do with killing, to own guns.

I won't quibble with the idea that hunters own guns to kill--that's obviously a hunter's intent--although since hunters generally eat their prey, it would seem that the killing makes sense. Eating an animal while it's still alive sounds a bit cruel.

One has to wonder in these days of ultra tight security at major events, like the Olympics, if anything is being done to protect everyone from the bubbling cauldrons of homicidal malice--the Olympic target shooters.

Actually, one has to wonder how there even is an America, with 80 million of us gun owners, and over 250 million guns--one would think we'd have wiped ourselves out by now, since we're so intent on killing (and since guns are so demonically lethal--just ask the Gun Guys).

Come on, Gun Guys--you can do better than that.