Comment by CRConrad

2 years ago

The very existence of dangerous weapons, be they nukes or handguns (or swords or tanks), makes the world less of a safe place than if they didn't exist. Existence is pretty much the most inherent attribute anything can have, AFAICS, so yes: Dangerous weapons are inherently unsafe. (Take that Glock, for example -- that's exactly the problem, that someone can take it. Might be someone who knows how to remove the safety.)

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CRConrad

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sneak  2 years ago

> makes the world less of a safe place than if they didn't exist

This is false. Handguns and other small arms, for example, cause a reduction in violence as they proliferate through society, due to the fact that the use of force is not the exclusive purview of the physically strong.

There's a reason police in most places carry guns, and it's not to shoot people; it's to keep people from punching the cops in the face. Nuclear weapons have vastly (and I do mean vastly) reduced mass deaths in world wars since their invention.

  • CRConrad  2 years ago

    > This is false. Handguns and other small arms, for example, cause a reduction in violence as they proliferate through society, due to the fact that the use of force is not the exclusive purview of the physically strong.

    [Citation needed]

    > There's a reason police in most places carry guns, and it's not to shoot people; it's to keep people from punching the cops in the face.

    By the threat of getting shot – a threat which the cops sometimes follow through on. Handguns “make the world a safer place” for those who have the handguns... By making it a less safe place for those who don't.

    > Nuclear weapons have vastly (and I do mean vastly) reduced mass deaths in world wars since their invention.

    [Citation needed]