Another day, another senseless massacre in America that didn't need to happen. When will you people realize that you DO NOT NEED GUNS. Oh, here come the usual BS arguments.
>home defense
The WEAKEST of all possible arguments. If your gun is properly secured (unloaded, locked in a safe, with trigger lock) then how exactly are you going to have time to get to your gun? Add in the panic that many people would be feeling, you're going to be bumbling around trying to unlock your gun and load the ammo, during which time you could have been calling 911. The only way in which a gun would be effective for home defense would be to keep it loaded, unlocked, and within easy reach - which would then make it easy for anyone else (including children) to access the gun.
>PROTECT ME FROM DA TYRANNICAL GOVMENT!
Laughable. So your handgun or rifle is going to be effective against a government armed with fully automatic weapons, tanks, helicopters, artillery, fighter jets, etc? Even if you're one of these heavily armed militia groups living on a remote compound, how long do you really think you could hold out against a government bent on subjugation?
>hunting
Humans managed to hunt just fine for thousands of years before the invention of firearms.
>protection
There are safer, non-lethal means of self-protection. Mace, pepper spray, stun guns, etc. By introducing a gun into the mix, you're escalating the situation into a lethal one. There's also a very good chance that your gun could be used against you. And if you're in an area there there might be dangerous wildlife, do you really think your handgun is going to be an effective form of protection against a charging mountain lion or grizzly bear?
>i-i-if everyone had guns then mass shootings would never happen!
Oh yeah, think about all those massacres that were stopped by brave gun toting citizens! Sandy Hook, Columbine, Virginia Tech, San Bernadino, Pulse, Vegas, the list goes on!