Comment on US and UK murder – rate and weapon by Chazz

Tools only kill in the hands of someone who wants to use them to kill. The argument goes like this.
Usually if you get into a fight with someone, it is out of anger and done in the heat of the moment, when your decision making process is compromised. Now if the only thing you have is your hands and feet, firstly you are much less likely to attack in the first place because you run the risk of being beaten yourself and even if you do act, it is far less likely to end in a fatality. It is much much harder to beat someone to death then it is to shoot them. Now let’s say you have some kind of tool that requires you to get in close to make the attack, let’s say a hammer or a knife. You have an advantage over your unarmed opponent, but still you run the risk of them being able to get that tool away form you and then getting a beating or worse, them using it on you or you are succesful and use it on them. But you still run a high risk to your own personal safety. Now let’s take the example of a pistol or any kind of firearm, now you are just as angry, but you are far enough away from them that you don’t have to get in close, so there is no risk of you being overpowered by your opponent. You pull the trigger he is either dead, dying or seriously injured and all you had to do was move your finger, you yourself were never in any danger.
Conclusion, there is far less risk of injury or death to you if you attack someone with a gun than with no weapon/tool or with a weapon/tool that requires you to get in close. So yes, people do kill people, however a firearm makes it far easier to kill someone (as already discussed) and therefore in a situation like those discussed the possession of a firearm makes it far more likely that someone will die or be seriously injured.