[Zak]

I'm against most restrictions on gun ownership as I assume you are, but I can't agree with your analysis here.

Though I'm currently living somewhere it's not legally possible, I have carried a pistol for self defense in the past. I never had to draw it or fire it at anybody. Nobody is dead or maimed because of my pistol. When carrying a pistol, I was always especially careful to try to de-escalate any potential conflicts, because I do not want to maim or kill anyone.

Its designed purpose, however is 100% to maim or kill other people. I carried it in case I needed to maim or kill someone (or more likely, use the threat of doing so) to prevent harm to myself. It isn't a piece of sporting equipment that's only incidentally deadly, like a target pistol, but a purpose-built defensive weapon.

Claims that the subset of firearms designed primarily to be antipersonnel weapons are something else come across as disingenuous to neutral observers. I hold pro-gun positions because I believe individual armed self-defense is a good thing, not because I think we should consider guns primarily as sporting equipment and only incidentally as weapons.