Guns are not Designed to Kill People

Gun Watch ^ | 20 April, 2016 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

This biathlon rifle was designed for target competition, not to kill people.

A common slogan of disarmists is "Guns are designed to kill people".  There are several variations; the only purpose of guns is to kill people; guns are designed for one thing: to kill; assault weapons are designed for one purpose: to Kill as many people as quickly as possible.   All are false.  It is easy to demonstrate that this is true.

First, what are guns designed to do?  Guns are designed to project force at a distance.  They do this by propelling a projectile out of the end of a barrel, at a velocity sufficient for the task at hand.  The higher the velocity, the more force can be projected at further distances.  The heavier the projectile, the more force that can be projected at a given velocity.  Guns are machines that allow us to effectively project force at a distance.

To clarify, consider the purpose of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile tipped with a nuclear warhead.  What is its purpose?  Its basic design is to project force at a distance, much like that of a simple pistol.  But it was not designed to kill people.  It was designed to provide deterrence; that is, to stop other people from killing us.  No Minuteman III has ever been used to kill a single person, but it was, and is, used to deter an attack on the United States through the ability to project force at a distance.

This principle is as old as humanity.  The most famous adage associated with it is:  Si vis pacem, para bellum  (if you wish peace, prepare for war).

People who buy guns in the United States buy them for three primary reasons; hunting, defense, and target shooting.

A majority of guns in the United States are designed to kill things, but they are not designed to kill people.  All hunting guns are designed to project force to kill the game that they are used to hunt.  That is a clear and obvious truth.  Single shot shotguns are seldom used to shoot targets; though they can do so.  They can also be used for effective self defense.  Their primary design purpose is to project force at a distance to kill small game, birds, pests, and even big game, with the proper ammunition.

 This semi-automatic hunting shotgun holds two shots, just like a double barrel gun.  It was designed for hunting.

People who push for more restrictions on the ownership of guns claim that they have no desire to restrict people from having hunting guns.  Guns that are specifically designed to be used to kill animals.  Guns that can be used to kill animals can be used to kill humans, but that is not their design function.

Some guns are not designed to kill at all.  Guns that are designed for target practise are not designed to kill anything.  They are specifically designed to place shots accurately and/or quickly on targets for score.  Numerous gun designs are specifically marketed for target shooting

Some guns are designed to prevent killing.  Guns that are designed for self-defense or defense of others fall into this category.  Most guns used for self defense are never used to kill anyone.   Most police officers carry a gun their whole career and never shoot anyone.  The guns are there to project force to prevent extreme harm or death, much like the Minuteman III.  While many are used for defense, few are used to actually kill a human. 

Most defensive uses are against people armed with knives, clubs, or hands and feet.  Many are defenses against animal attack. Deterrence is largely sufficient for humans.  About one human is killed for roughly a thousand defensive uses.

Defensive uses of guns occur about 500,000 to 3 million times a year; justified homicides occur about 750 to 1500 times a year.  The FBI under-reports justified homicides(pdf) because of the way they are defined in the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR).

How about military guns? Military guns are also used to project force, and to provide deterrence.  The vast majority of military guns are never used to kill anyone; they are used to project force and deter killing.

The Barrett .50 caliber rifle was developed for the U.S. Military and has been legal for ordinary citizens to own since its invention.  It has never been used in an illegal homicide, though it is commonly used in long range target shooting.

Other semi-automatic rifles deserve a mention.  While the AR 15 is commonly described as a "military gun" it has been altered specifically for the civilian market. It is included in all the political lists of "assault weapons".  It is not an assault rifle.  It is correctly described as a sport and utility rifle.  The AR platform is readily adapted for hunting, target shooting, and self defense.  It is the most popular rifle in the United States, precisely because of its adaptability and utility.  It is seldom used in crime.

A great many guns are like the AR 15; they have multiple purposes and can be used effectively for hunting, target shooting and defense, even though one or two of those purposes may not have been the primary purpose for which they were designed.

A shotgun designed for skeet shooting can be used for hunting and for defense.  A target pistol can be used to shoot grouse for the camp pot, or to defend against a rabid fox; a self defense handgun can be used for target shooting or hunting; even if they are not the optimum tool for that purpose. 

All guns can be used to kill people, so can hammers, screw drivers and cars.  That does not mean that they were designed for that purpose.  There are about 400 million firearms in the United States.  There are about 9,000 murders and 500 accidents committed with firearms in a given year.  In each year, roughly 1 gun out of 42,000 is used to kill someone who does not want to be killed. Add in suicides, where people kill themselves, and the ratio becomes 1 in 12,500.  If guns were designed to kill people, the designers are doing a lousy job. 

The next time you read or hear that "Guns are designed to kill people", you will know that the writer or speaker has not really thought about what they are writing or saying.  They are repeating a propaganda talking point designed to have you forget about the common uses of guns, and concentrate on the rare and uncommon.

Guns are designed to project force at a distance.  The intention behind that force is up to the operator of the gun.

Definition of  disarmist

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Link to Gun Watch

[marktwain]

Guns are designed for many purposes. The argument that "Guns have only one purpose: to kill people." is false.

[circlecity]

I guess it depends on the gun. A Remington 700 bolt action is primarily used for hunting and long distance target shooting. (yes, I know it is an effective sniper rifle but for every sniper who’s ever used it there are a thousand hunters who use it) A Colt 1911 .45 ACP or M16 (AR-15) are primarily designed and used for self defense or offensive actions against other people. Yes, you could hunt small game with an AR-15 but there are much better alternatives.

[DuncanWaring]

A better response would be “Yeah - so what?”.

They make it possible for my 87-year-old widowed mother, and others like her, to efffectively defend themselves from those more powerful, more numerous and less-principled than themselves.

[ctdonath2]

Pedantic.
Deterrence only works if the threat is viable; handguns & ICBMs are only a deterrent if the would-be deteree believes the tool actually designed & capable of inflicting great harm.
There’s nothing wrong with admitting that some guns are, in fact, designed & owned for the ultimate purpose (even if never used) to kill people.

[ThunderSleeps]

Based on how I use them, my guns were apparently designed to have a lot in common with a hole punch from Staples, just from a distance and for a lot more $$$.

Well, when I'm carrying they do give me an added sense of self confidence and security. So maybe they have something in common with a good haircut, a new shirt... Hmm, to improve my self confidence I guess I could lose a few pounds, or get another carry gun? ;-) We all know which one of those will be easier...

[Delta 21]

Why do liberal politicians feel its OK to send automatic weapons and rocket launchers to neanderthals living in the 3rd century ruled by kings and war for several millennia? To people that kill their own family members for pride and honor, but insist that I am not responsible enough to have even one gun?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

In the words of an old US patent on a firearm, it was...”A MACHINE FOR THROWING BALLS.”

Lead balls.

[rfreedom4u]

Neither were hammers, baseball bats, knives, cars etc....

[Charles Martel]

A better response would be “Yeah - so what?”.

Absolutely. The fact is, firearms all trace back to those first used for military purposes by the ancient Chinese. In that respect, yes, guns were all derived from something designed to kill. I doubt that the Chinese couched the matter in terms such as "projecting force from a distance", they just pointed it at the enemy.

Many "sporting" firearms have their design roots in military weapons. The '98 Mauser inspired the Winchester 70. The M-16 morphed into an endless variety of sporting versions.

So what? It all depends on how *people* use those intimate objects.

[marktwain]

From the article:
“The intention behind that force is up to the operator of the gun.”

The point is that the disarmists claim that there is only one purpose for guns, and that is to kill people. That is clearly false. Discrediting that claim is worthwhile for persuasive purposes.

To the uniformed, it is very hard to see why someone would keep a machine whose only purpose is to kill people, in their house. The article educates and shows that killing people with guns is rare but sometimes necessary, and that guns serve a multitude of purposes.

[Little Ray]

What the Hoplophobes will never accept is that there is a small but significant portion of the human race who NEED killing and it is the duty of mature human being to protect themselves and others from these people.
A firearm is merely a tool for doing this.

[real saxophonist]

COL Cooper said a firearm is a tool with which one gains control of one’s environment.

[Daveinyork]

They are designed mostly for killing, at least in the early days of firearms, but not only people. But so what?

[super7man]

Pedantic. Deterrence only works if the threat is viable; handguns & ICBMs are only a deterrent if the would-be deteree believes the tool actually designed & capable of inflicting great harm. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that some guns are, in fact, designed & owned for the ultimate purpose (even if never used) to kill people

Well said. Needs repeating. And in some circumstances, killing someone is the right thing to do and a gun is often the best means.

[marktwain]

All true, but it is only a partial answer to the disarmist argument.

[Coffee... Black... No Sugar]

The audience the author would wish for will neither read nor comprehend the finer points of the piece.

[Carriage Hill]

Guns kill people,
pencils misspell words,
cars drive drunk &
spoons make you fat.

[Don W]

Using a firearm is nothing more, nothing less than throwing a rock. A lead rock, at distances and speeds the human arm is incapable of reaching.

Accuracy is still wholly dependent on the skill of the user/thrower.