and in the hundreds of millions, thanks to people who treasure their toys more than the lives of our children. And given your reasoning, we can expect many more young children to die gruesome deaths as "the price of freedom."
"Have any of those guns...or those that you have known of?" Not sure what that means. But yes, I knew someone murdered by a gun, shot in the neck during a robbery. She bled to death before she could get to a hospital. I also know women who have been raped at gun point. But thank God the guns weren't hurt, and that the rights of the gun owners weren't "infringed."
As for automobiles, they serve a purpose that has nothing to do with killing human beings or animals. Guns, not so much.
But by all means, let's go a bit further with your analogy to cars.
We register every car on the road. We require that every driver have a license, and to get that license every driver has to pass a written exam and then pass a road test. We require the owner of every car on the road to carry insurance. We have speed limits, stop signs and traffic lights that regulate how cars are driven. We mandate that drivers obey all manner of rules, including which side of the road to drive on, the use of headlights at night, and so on. We regulate the lead content of gasoline, and tax gasoline to maintain our roads. How about we tax ammunition enough to pay for all the social costs incurred by those who insist on owning firearms?
And every automobile on the road is required to pass a yearly safety inspection. The government also mandates seat belts, and there is a fine for people caught not using them. There is an age limit on who can drive on a public road. There are laws regulating the alcohol blood levels of drivers, and those breaking those laws can lose their license or end up in prison.
So yes, let's treats guns like cars. Register every gun with the government. Require gun owners to pass exams before they can own or even handle a gun. Require every gun owner to carry insurance, and jail those who refuse. Do random checks of gun owners for blood alcohol levels. Require all guns to be inspected every year. Require all gun owners to periodically renew their license.
Then too, the type of vehicles on the road is also strictly regulated. When was the last time you saw a Bradley Fighting Vehicle driving down the main street of your town? Know anybody who owns a tank, or a half track, or a self-propelled gun?
Yes, I would love to see guns treated like cars in this country.
BTW: you never did answer my original question. If it's "people, not guns" that account for our annual firearms slaughter, how come no other developed country on earth suffers the sort of massacres we are forced to endure? Aren't there people in western Europe, in Australia, in New Zealand? Why no gun massacres there if guns aren't the deciding factor?
But I don't expect an answer. "The guns will still be out there." Indeed. Just hope no child you know ever finds themselves on the receiving end of one of those "AR style rifles."
Edited to add: I blame the persons and the guns. And I also blame the people who make spurious arguments to minimize the role that guns play in the continuing waste of innocent lives, with the result that all we ever do in response to massacre after massacre is offer "thoughts and prayers."
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