Objects don't have purposes or intent until people use them, and many objects have multiple reasonable and dual purposes. Objects can be used for net good and net harm. A bow and arrow isn't specifically for harming humans but can be used for such. Chainsaws and meat cleavers too.
What would you like a machine gun-wielding terrorist to be stopped with? A strongly-worded letter?
On the same token of reasonableness and rationality, it's unreasonable to give a toddler a towed howitzer that's ordinarily destined for Big Sandy Shoot.
Wrong. That's your projection and your value judgement. Guns are designed to shoot bullets. That's all that can be stated honestly. They can be used for "benign" activities, "good" things, and "bad" things... where the value varied depending on who is asked the question.
Even if they were designed only for "harm", you seem to believe "all harm bad". So should criminals in the midst of committing violent acts not be stopped because that would "harm" them? You won't answer this. Extreme pacifism is insane, morally-inconsistent, ideological, thoughtless drivel that fails to acknowledge the monopolies on violence delegated to police and military that they benefit from.
Perhaps you might want to have your military abolished because they are "designed to cause harm"? Or the whole abolish prisons and police nonsense? Real anarchy is really bad.
> Guns have no other purpose than doing harm.
Objects don't have purposes or intent until people use them, and many objects have multiple reasonable and dual purposes. Objects can be used for net good and net harm. A bow and arrow isn't specifically for harming humans but can be used for such. Chainsaws and meat cleavers too.
What would you like a machine gun-wielding terrorist to be stopped with? A strongly-worded letter?
On the same token of reasonableness and rationality, it's unreasonable to give a toddler a towed howitzer that's ordinarily destined for Big Sandy Shoot.