Guns, tools or dangerous weapons? What is your view and why?

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TCB in TN

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I have been involved in several discussions over the years where the argument centered around whether guns are merely tools or whether they are so much more dangerous that they fall into their own category. Just curious as to the view that folks on here have, and how that view impacts the way you handle them.
 
Cars, chain saws, firearms are all very dangerous when improperly used. Can anyone reasonably say that one is more dangerous than the other? No, of course not.

So is a chain saw a tool? A car? Sure. If these machines are just as dangerous as firearms then and they're considered tools then it makes little sense to put firearms in a separate category just because they're "guns". Tell people to drop the mystical impression and look at the machine.
 
So what if they're dangerous weapons? There's nothing wrong with being dangerous. It is in fact a prerequisite to continued survival on this planet. I'm dangerous. Doubly so with a firearm. So what?

I always liked this quote from the Two Towers:

"Dangerous!" cried Gandalf. "And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord. And Aragorn is dangerous, and Legolas is dangerous. You are beset with dangers, Gimli son of Glóin; for you are dangerous yourself, in your own fashion. Certainly the forest of Fangorn is perilous -- not least to those that are too ready with their axes; and Fangorn himself, he is perilous too; yet he is wise and kindly nonetheless."
Click to expand...
 
Guns are tools, used for a specific purpose, however guns are not in the same category as hammers and chain saws... you can't hack someone apart with a chainsaw from 30 yds away, and you can't smash someone's head with a hammer from very far at all unless you're a skilled axethrower (or similar) or drop it from the top of a building (or some other equally silly explanation that I'm sure 30 people will think of posting)

Guns are used for hunting, self defense, plinking/training and war. There's a tool for every job.

Think of the difference between hand tools and power tools like the difference between say swords and guns. You wouldn't use a sword to open a package just like you wouldn't use a gun to cut down a tree (unless you happen to own a LOT of land, and have one or more NFA firearms)

:cool:
 
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Weapons are tools. These are not mutually exclusive concepts. Indeed, one is actually a subset of the other.
 
Weapons. I don't even know how this "guns are tools" business got started.
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Guns have always been tools, as well as potential weapons.

Tool - object or device used to make a task easier.
Weapon -tool used to attack something or someone.

A car is always a tool. When someone uses it to intentionally run someone over, it's a weapon.

This thread will eventually devolve into "designed or intended usage vs potential usage."
 
Depends on how it's used. Lots of things are dangerous weapons when used as a weapon.
It's hard using that argument against anti's since they have it firmly engrained in their mind that guns have only one purpose while cars, saws, hammers, etc. have more "practical" everyday uses.
The tool impacts the way I handle them. While I might be less careful with a screwdriver or a level I handle a circular saw or nail gun the same way I handle a firearm: very carefully.
 
1. Guns are nothing more than tools. "A tool is an instrument designed to serve its master."
2. More specifically, a gun is a tool that is for the purpose of stopping another human being. A tool with this purpose is called a "weapon".
3. So the term "weapon" is a subset of the term "tool". All weapons are tools. Not all tools are weapons.
4. A weapon is neither good nor bad. It has no inherent moral trait. It all depends on who uses that weapon. In the hands of law abiding citizens, a weapon used to stop a criminal from doing evil would be considered a good thing. The term "weapon" is not automatically a dirty word. Weapons are good in the hands of good people. As a society, we have become so politically correct and "sissyfied" that many have lost the concept of self defense.
 
I have half a dozen things in my office that could be used to kill someone. (No, no guns).

Thing is, I am not going to kill anyone.

There are "tools" in our shop that can maim or kill if used improperly. We stress safety all the time.

Guns are weapons. Weapons can be considered tools. They can be dangerous when used improperly, or "properly" by a bad guy, just like many other things in our society.

People are the problem, not guns, saws, knives, swords, bats, 2X4's, tire irons, lawn darts, rocks, cars, boats, jet skies, walking across the street, etc.

How does it impact me? I am very careful when using anything that can do damage to me or others, not just guns.
 
Words mean things. Guns are weapons. They are only tools in as much as all weapons are tools. All weapons are dangerous, at least to their intended target or targets of like size.
 
Words mean things. Guns are weapons.
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Definition of weapon: "any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting"

Definition of tool: "an implement used in the practice of a vocation"

Seeing as how not all firearms are meant or designed to be "instruments used in fighting or hunting" it seems that the second definition (that of a tool) is the more appropriate.
 
Weapons. I don't even know how this "guns are tools" business got started.
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Yep, same as chainsaws, axes, hacksaws, screwdrivers, drills, table saws, knives, box cutters, wrenches, (and on, forever). :rolleyes:

They are tools, and like any tool, their danger depends on who is using them.
 
Guns are Tools, and or are a sub-set or Category of Tools.

At it's simplest, Guns are devices which propell an evolved or sophisticated 'rock'.

Tools are anything which extend the reach or facility of the Body, be it the Hand, the Eye, the Foot, the Stomach, or the Brain.

A Refrigerator is an accessory pre-Stomach.

A Commode, an accessory post-Bowel.

A Microscope, an extention of the Eye.

Etc
 
Weapons, yeah.
Tools, yeah.

In either sense, there is no way on this Earth I would use a gun for what it is intended to be used for, if it was not, in fact, dangerous.

To paraphrase something that has been said on this site a few times:

Isn't that gun you are carrying dangerous?
It better be, I would not be carrying it if it wasn't.
 
Guns are 'arms' and lethal in purpose. Nonlethal sporting purposes are derivative in 99.99% of the time of their lethal use against people or critters.

As arms, their lethal purpose has led to constitutional protection.

Tools, like chain saws and hammers - even though dangerous - are not protected.

Tools can be banned and controlled with ease.

Saying they are tools is a way to try to convince the nasty anti to let you have a toy or a gadget to fix the sink or play a game with.

Since they are so dangerous, such toys and tools should be strictly controlled. Or see that they are 'arms' and protected.

That's my opinion. BTW, from my knowledge of the research on weapons and psychological impact of such - only the choir would buy into the tool analogy. No else would.
 
Weapons are tools. These are not mutually exclusive concepts. Indeed, one is actually a subset of the other.
Click to expand...

+1

A car is a tool for me to get to work in less than 3 hours, but it is also a dangerous tool and can be a weapon.
 
it is not either/or
it is both

a tool, yes, of course
but never, never, ever forget it is a deadly weapon, not even if it is intended to be a "just for fun tool"

no matter how deadly a chain saw or automobile can be, it is just not in the same class

PS
after all, how many 'scenarios' have you read lately on what size saw or automobile best to defend against grizz, or machete man, or zombies ???
;)
 
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