Oi, now to the guns.
Regardless or whether it be a gun, knife, bat, wrench, tire iron, screw driver, nail gun, a pipe, fertilizer and diesel fuel, hand grenades, bows and arrows, crossbows, atlatls, spears, darts, blowguns, a bucket with an inch of water in it, 2x4's, vehicles, ropes, chains, laser beams, photon torpedoes, or any other manner of tool or otherwise that can be gripped, triggered, manipulated, thrown, tossed, etc it can be used to harm, inflict pain or kill a human being.
Saying that a guns purpose is to kill a human being is no more true than saying any other objects purpose is to kill a human being. Just as it is easier to remove a screw with a screwdriver than it is with a hammer it is easier to kill a human with a gun than it is pillow. Just because it is easier to kill a human with a gun this does not dictate it's purpose. If asked, I would say a gun's purpose is to move a round down range at a high velocity.
This is simply because before guns when people wanted to eat meat they had very limited options. These tools are also what they used in substitute of the gun in every other situation that we use the gun, legal or not. Crime is not a product of guns. Crime is the product of people.
An interesting point to note, in the case of higher caliber weapons (technically over here the only guns are the indirect fire ones, the rest are rifles, or pistols) specifically the 50 Cal, you do not have to hit the target to cause death. If the round comes within 1 foot (I believe) of the target, whatever part of the target is nearest is more than likely gone. To me, this means the purpose of the gun is to create an extremely high velocity round and the death of the person is a side effect. Much like a nail gun is great at nailing boards together - but accidently target a human in the head and they will more than likely die.
