A rational person would have just let this thread die, but...
First, as I mentioned many times, I am not against guns. I have them; I have had loaded guns in a corner of each room in the farmhouse I lived in where the nearest neighbor was 2 miles away; I know for a fact that my wife's aunt would be alive today if she was armed with one, and I also have solid reason to presume my buddy's neighbor would not have been so easily killed if she had one in her apartment. But, here's my general take.
Of the roughly 10 people I know who have been murdered, only two were stabbed or beaten to death. The rest were shot. This tracks well with our national statistics: people are killed by guns far more often than by other means. Here's another one. I know at least 5 people who were stabbed that survived. Only one died, and that was more fluke than anything else, he was unlucky enough to be stabbed in the heart. I know no one who was shot that survived.
What do all my gun killings share in common? Opportunity, an easy means to kill rather than walk away. Got a gun, killing is made easy.
The first killing happened in a hospital after a bar fight. The shooter got his ass beat and sought revenge by bringing a gun to the hospital where my buddy's brother was getting a knife wound stitched up. No gun, no way he even tries exacting revenge in a hospital, much less manages to shoot the guy dead.
The last killing was a burglary gone bad. Two mopes enter my friend's home late at night looking for money and/or prescription drugs. He's asleep. They are armed. He wakes up. One of the mopes shoots him dead as he tries dialing 911. A neighbor hears the commotion. She makes the mistake to letting her presence be known. One of the mopes chases her down, shoots her dead in her apartment after kicking in the door. No gun, no one gets killed.
