Why would a high school have an indoor rifle range?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

55. The difference between guns and alcohol, drugs and comic books:

Guns are designed to kill, injure or simulate killing/injuring another person or being.

Alcohol and drugs, particularly when abused, could cause death or injury. However, that is not their intended purpose, and most often the risks are to one's own self and not to others. Only when combined with some other factor, like a car--or say, a gun--can abuse of alcohol and drugs create a danger to the public at large.

Comic books--I don't see any reason to fear them, and I don't think one can use a comic book as a physical weapon, unless you intend to paper cut someone to death.

Even knives, which can be used as weapons, have a intended purpose other than for use as a weapon, and thus they are not in the same league as guns. Although a small degree of healthy fear towards some more extreme knives might be warranted.

But when something is placed into the stream of commerce that is designed with the specific intent of killing, injuring or simulating killing/injuring, there needs to be a healthy, rational, non-histrionic fear of that thing.

Now, I do think there is a problem with irrational fear and guns in this country, but that irrational fear rests in those who own the guns. I'm talking about people who live in extremely safe neighborhoods who insist on having a gun because they are all but assured they will somehow be the victim of a violent home invasion at some point down the road. I'm talking about people who insist on having a gun because they believe it might be necessary for the purposes of an armed revolution against a tyrannical government that does not actually exist.

Those are irrational fears surround guns, and those are the types of fears that gets people hurt or killed.

But in understanding the specific intent of a gun and having a rational and healthy fear of it is not a bad thing.