Before replying, I will note that I feel as though we have reached the end of the discussion - I think you have raised your contentions well, and I understand them but disagree. I expect you feel the same from your end, and that is fine, but I am sure neither of us thinks we will really convince the other of anything at this juncture.

As a result, I won’t be continuing the conversation after this, but know that I don’t feel any animosity toward you.

Yes, and there have been cases of guns not going off and failing to kill anyone but that is a very pedantic take… The fact of the matter remains, guns are designed to kill people, other things could kill people but not been designed for such purpose, they tend to be less effective

Some guns are designed to kill people, others are designed to hunt, others are designed to target shoot.

For example, you don’t see one of these killing a lot of people:

https://www.ssusa.org/media/c0yk1ziu/12feinwerkbau-aw93.jpg

Note that an argument of “it could be used to kill someone however” returns us to placing it in the same category as a vehicle.

The point is that, since seemingly we all agree (even gun owners as per your comment)… why do we do it at all when we all agree it’s a bad idea?!

Poor regulation depending on your area. Recall that I am in agreement that regulation can always be better. I disagree with the regulations for this in a place such as America, but you should examine how this works in other countries as well (such as the paper I linked regarding Switzerland).

Not quite… I would not trust a toddler to get a pie out of the oven because, no matter how well trained, such toddler will likely burn themselves and ruin the pie. Sure, Larry is a disaster, but we have COUNTLESS examples of Police Officers, arguably the most trained demographic to hold guns, who constantly misuse them.

Yes and I would not trust a toddler to drive either, just like how I would not trust Larry to drive, nor to use a firearm. Officers (in the US I assume you are referencing) do not receive nearly as much training as I think you suppose. Furthermore this again goes back to regulation - I believe that if a cop misuses a firearm or a vehicle, then again, they should have those things taken and be jailed. This again hints that you are more upset with specific people/regulatory systems than firearms or vehicles I think.

You don’t seem to have produced an argument against guns that does not directly depend upon a specific group of people choosing to misuse one, but the same argument can be applied to my car bomb allegory.

The amount of people that could truly be trusted with guns, under special circumstances, is very very slim. No amount of education or training would make a human 100% trust worthy with guns 100% of the time. There is a reason a huge percentage of violent crime falls in the category of “passion” crimes

The same could be said for someone driving - most likely more often for drivers since more people own vehicles than those who own firearms. It is anecdotal to say that is slim as well - you should search for a source to back that up in the future. I suggest you look into the actual data regarding gun ownership versus responsibility.

I would highly recommend you read the paper I linked in my first comment regarding Switzerland because it implies the opposite in their case.

In the US? Yes that could be different, but again that demonstrates quite clearly this is not a gun problem, but a societal/educational problem since this problem only really exists in specific places.

We should do those things… and still not let almost anyone own a gun. The case is clear, there is simply no societal benefit to allow widespread ownership of certain guns.

I don’t think the case is very clear at all - based on the sources I have provided I would say it is decidedly unclear. Social benefits include the control of wildlife, military protections, and social sport (such as olympic shooting, and target shooting competition).

I used to feel similarly to yourself so I challenged my bias by going through the process of getting a firearms license in my country and engaging with firearms, sport shooting, and the community that surrounds it. After all, if my bias did not change, then I could simply sell the firearms to recoup my money and would not have lost anything - however it did change my opinions on the matter, so just know that I am speaking from a place of having involved myself with the subject directly to go seek out the real tangible information on my own behalf.

Perhaps someday you may find it enlightening to do something similar, even if you don’t take it quite as far as me.

Thanks and have a good day.