Guns vs. Mental Health

Dammit. It’s happened again. This time just an hour South of where I live.

All I want to say is this. The purpose of a gun is the taking of life.

The purpose of a gun is the taking of life.

That is why guns were invented. To increase the efficiency and ability to take life. Threats of gun violence, yes, may have a deterrent effect on some criminals. That is why officers carry guns.

But the sole purpose of a firearm is to end a life.

Unless that is clearly understood by all parties, there can be little effectiveness in a gun control debate.

Some people collect guns. Some people collect coins. The primary purpose of a coin is to be a form currency. Not a collectible.

Guns are first and foremost a method of ending life.

Are mental health concerns an issue that we should address? Yes, absolutely. The way we treat the least in our society shows us who we are as a society. But when someone uses a rifle in a mass shooting – a mass murder – the issue isn’t mental health. It’s that the person knew the purpose of that weapon, and made use of it.

I’ve been told that if guns were illegal, people would kill with knives. Or axes. Perhaps that is also true.

But the primary purpose of a knife is not to kill. The primary purpose of an axe is not to kill (unless you’re a tree).

The primary purpose of a gun. Is. To. Kill.