If you carry a firearm and don't kill people are you misusing it?

[ileus]

"Those who carry them and don't kill people are not using those guns for their intended purpose."



Discuss:

[shadowrider]

1. So they're ok with gun owners killing people which is the intended purpose????

Why all the anti-gun threads then?

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

2. Obviously :)

[Reasonable_Argument]

3. A firearm is just a tool

It has no intent. It's an inanimate object. Intent is a human trait.

[ileus]

4. But if I carry a handgun and don't kill people is that improper use?

[Starboard Tack]

5. If you don't use it, then how can it be improper use?

Keeping a car in a driveway is not improper use or misuse of the car, but neither is it the intended purpose of the car.
By "intended purpose" one must look to the designer and manufacturer, not the user. You may buy a gun to use as a hammer or a bookend. That's your right, but not the gun's intended purpose.

[NewMoonTherian]

20. In that case, is the intended purpose relevant?

It seems it's only the intent of the user has any bearing on the merit of the item. If you buy it to use as a bookend, it's pretty harmless. If you use it to shoot targets, or animals, or to defend yourself against violent criminals, it's a legitimate tool.

EDIT: On reading your post 7, I decided to clarify. When I say "defend yourself against violent criminals" I'm talking about shooting and killing a human being. That is a fully legitimate civilian use of a gun under certain circumstances, and I have no qualms with discussing it in those terms. Sometimes, to defend your life and the lives of your loved ones, it may be necessary to kill a human being.

[Starboard Tack]

22. Thank you for your honesty. I wonder why others evade and obfuscate?

When I say "defend yourself against violent criminals" I'm talking about shooting and killing a human being.

Sheesh! It's like pulling teeth around here at times.

[NewMoonTherian]

24. Ha! I'll agree with you there.

I've never been big on diplomacy. If someone thinks less of me because I'd be willing to kill an attacker to save my loved ones, then I care very little what that someone thinks of me.

[Starboard Tack]

7. Absolutely correct.

The maker of it was the one who had it's intended purpose in mind. Handguns are manufactured, with a few exceptions, for the intended purpose of killing or seriously damaging other humans. They may be marketed with more euphemistic slogans to make them more palatable to those who don't see themselves as potential killers. "Self defense tool" comes to mind.
Unfortunately, if used as a self defense tool, it will mean pointing that gun at someone at the very least. That's when it approaches it's intended purpose.

[Reasonable_Argument]

8. The intent is still in the person wielding it

A firearms manufacturer is just producing a tool. That same gun can be used in self defense or murder. The person holding the tool supplies the intent and one purpose is legal the other is not. You're bias is showing.

[Trunk Monkey]

9. I don't believe that firearms were created solely to kill

I believe that firearms, like air craft carriers were designed with the intent of projecting force, the only difference is in scope.

By carrying a firearm I am sending a message that I can and will use force if necessary to achieve my goals

If my goals are moral (defense of self and loved ones) then my use of the firearm is moral.

If my goals are immoral (taking what you have by force) then my use of the firearm is immoral.

Kinda like the USS Yorktown and the IJN Akagi

[sarisataka]

6. I am at the St Paul Irish fair with my family

I am misusing my 38 around a few thousand people and expect to continue to misuse it for the rest of the day.

Good music and food

[ileus]

11. Safety first....carry on.

I went to the WV State fair yesterday....it's one of those target rich places since the have the "no legally carried" firearms signs posted.

So I left my pistol stowed in the Xterra.

[sarisataka]

12. I am surprised it wasn't posted

The downside is no Guinness today.

[ileus]

16. It's the price we must pay...

[Hoyt]

17. Are you concerned about your neighbors there? What concerns you?

[sarisataka]

18. The people who were around did not concern me at all

What did concern me was all of the things my wife saw that were 'pretty'. We compromised, she only bought 90% of the things she wanted.

[Hoyt]

19. So you just strapped on a gun and wondered into society for the he'll of it!?

[sarisataka]

21. Nope, wandered into society with a clear purpose...

take the family and some of the kid's school friends to the fair.

Turns out there were several things I did not need yesterday:
Pistol- no crime or threat to safety
Seat belts- did not get into an accident
Insurance cards- nobody became sick or was injured
Cell phone- didn't have to call anyone
...probably a few more.

The point is that if any of the above were needed I had them on hand. None would have been of the slightest use if they were needed and had been left at home.

[S_B_Jackson]

10. If I haven't ever used the fire extinguisher in my vehicle to put out a fire am I misusing it?

What about the smoke detectors in my home that have never detected a fire? Are they being misused because they've yet to be utilized for their intended purpose?

The answer, of course, is no. All exist to be used should a need arise. In the case of firearms, they have other intended purposes - competetive shooting, target shooting, and hunting just to name a few - I have used all of my firearms for these alternative uses, and they remain in my home and usually on my person for self-defense as well, though I pray never to need it for this last purpose.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

13. what about putting food on the table? doesn't that count for anything?

btw -- who are you quoting? would love to give credit where credit is due

[DWC]

14. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH n/t

[jonthebru]

15. Read the instructions, not the destructions!

[Callisto32]

23. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Funniest OP this week, mein freund.

[PD Turk]

25. Damn, I must be doing it wrong

I've owned guns for about 40 years now, some people might say I have an "arsenal", and I haven't killed anybody with one yet

[Simo 1939_1940]

26. Of course you are! And this is all the evidence I need...........

[Peepsite]

27. If I kill something other than a person

Like a rattlesnake, or an angry Pitt bull, or a rabid animal or something,I'm in the wrong?

[rDigital]

28. The only purpose of carry is to defend yourself from serious bodily injury or death. nt