You Don't Need a Handgun
This is just one piece of evidence to make a case that we really should not have to argue anymore. You do not need to own a handgun. If you own one and you have a small child, that child is at risk. “But I lock up my guns, the problem is irresponsible gun owners,” people will cry. No. If you own a handgun there is a chance it will kill your child. The child will make a mistake or you will make a mistake, and your child will be dead. A handgun is small; the geometry of where the barrel is pointing when it goes off is particularly deadly compared to a more cumbersome firearm. Children do not understand this. Adults, much of the time, do not understand this.
Handguns exist for one reason: to kill human beings. People make the argument that a gun is a tool all the time. Yes. Guns are tools. Their function is death. A handgun is a tool for killing people. Your ranch shotgun or hunting rifle? You can reasonably argue those have a purpose that is not killing people. (They’re meant for killing things that aren’t people). An AR-15 or other military-style rifle is also built for killing people, but that’s an argument for another day. You don’t hunt with a handgun. I’m sure people do it, I’ve been at the range and shot one of those big Colt Pythons that someone sticks a scope on or whatever, but you’re an asshole and an idiot if you do that.
Do you need a handgun for self-defense? No, you do not. If you are so desperately afraid and insecure that you must keep a firearm in your home, get a shotgun, which is easier to secure, easier to use, and far less likely to penetrate the walls of your house. It’s also less likely to result in your child’s accidental death. A large, heavy shotgun is much more difficult for a toddler to mess with than a small, light handgun, logic the study’s findings appear to support.
from Kentucky!