You Were Right, It Is A Tool

A letter to those who coached me about guns:

You said it to me so many times. Whenever someone would advocate for more gun control, it was right there on the tip of your tongue. “A gun is just a tool. If we regulate that, we have to regulate hammers or axes.” Nevermind that some tools are regulated, like knives, welding equipment, blow torches, or spray paint. I know what you meant. You meant that the gun is just an instrument, and therefore not the problem. The gun was made by human beings to help us do things easier. We are the great tool makers after all. When we have a task to perform, we make tools so those tasks will be easier. Inherently, a tool has no inclination towards good or evil. It is but an inanimate object with the only value that which we imprint upon it.

And you said this to me often. You told me that when I had reservations about owning them. So, I took your rationale and I bought some tools for myself. And because certain tools are created for certain jobs, I bought different kinds. I had them for hunting birds, deer, and protecting myself. Because I believed you when you told me it was a tool, I even went the step of keeping my tools with me at all times, cause you never know when the job will come along where I will need that tool. Like the lug wrench I keep in my vehicle when I have to change a flat, or the screwdrivers to fix a door, I made sure my tools were all in working order. And because using the tool is a task that you have to learn, I practiced using them. Often, I did that with you because it was you who introduced me to those tools.

Though I was never a professional who used his tools on a daily basis, I was pretty good with my tools. Like the friend who can help you change out the light fixture, or do some minor car repair, I was the shade tree tool guy. My skills would do in a pinch cause I knew what I was doing with those tools. I knew who to clean them, care for them, and when I practiced, I punched the centers out f a lot of targets with those tools, and could bring down a lot of birds and other game. I was even the one you started to call when you thought about getting new tools for yourself. The friends who you bounced ideas off of to make sure you weren’t wasting your money on those tools.

You were right. I concede that the gun is just another tool, built to make the work of humans easier.

But, the work is different. A gun wasn’t made to build a house like a hammer. It wasn’t made to fix broken machines like a wrench.

The work of a gun is to kill. And if that is your work, it is the right tool for the job.

No other tool can run up the death toll like we have seen in just the first two months of 2018 like a gun. It should be a testament to the tool makers for no other tool is as effective at its job as a gun. I have seen lots of people miss nails with their hammer, or ruin screws with their screwdrivers. But no one who is wanting to kill is ineffective when they have a gun. Sure, sometimes they might miss their target, but when they hit, the job is done. 

There is no tool as effective at its job, nor dispassionate. 

These tools with no inherent good or evil don’t care where they do their work. They just do it with gusto. The list of animals hunted to extinction shows the potency of this tools work. I’m sure if you could find a rhino to tell you the story, they would let you know just how effective that tool has been. Though, you might want to hurry. I hear there are not many left to give such discerning details. 

If you can’t find one, why don’t you ask the students who have attending one of the 19 schools where this tool has made its presence known. Or you could ask the people of Las Vegas, or Charleston, or Virginia Tech…you know what I mean. You probably don’t need to ask though, cause you know how effective a tool it is.

You were right that the gun is nothing more than a tool. A dispassionate dispenser of the work of death. That is what it was made for, and it is very good at its job. 

So, I understand why you don’t like it when people start talking about “gun control.” Those ignoramuses are stupidly put restrictions on tools. It is not the tools fault that they are good at what they do.

That being the case, what if we started calling it “death control?” You see, I agree that it is a tool, and it is silly to regulate tools. Instead, why don’t we regulate the work. We just don’t want more people to die, and so what if we proposed omnibus policies that helped curb the harsh reality that people die needlessly in this country?

We wouldn’t be talking about the tools anymore.

We would be focused on the job.