this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2023
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Being from a very rural area: guns are tools. They provide self defense against wildlife and crazy humans when you're miles outside of law enforcement coverage, they are pest control, and they are a humane way of euthanasia when a farm animal is suffering.
And like most other tools, such as drills, post hole augers, machine lathes, tractors, cars, etc... they can maim and kill indiscriminately when used incorrectly or maliciously. But you cannot simply ban or remove the tool from everywhere because it is still serves a very important purpose. Can they be more controlled, education made mandatory, more stringent confiscation rules in the case of people with mental illness? Yes, and probably should. But you will never eliminate the firearm completely.
I am prepared to recieve the hate and downvotes for providing a measured, reasonable response.
I've never actually encountered someone either online or in person who things we can or should ban all guns in the US. I don't think this person exists in any significant capacity, except in the imaginations of paranoid gun owners. There's definitely nothing in the image above to imply that, either.
Just because you havent met them, doesn't mean they don't exist.
I'm sure there are individuals who think that way, but I don't think it's a significant number at all - certainly not among elected representatives, political commentators, or anyone else with a significant amount of power to actually affect gun legislation.
It's odd to me that so often when someone refers to gun control of any sort, people like the commenter I responded to immediately respond with "Well you can't just ban all guns." The vast majority of the time, nobody is actually proposing that we do so. It's over-defensiveness at best and strawmanning at worst.