This is derailing the thread so I won't carry on about it for too long.
Yes, guns are violent. The presence of weaponry makes murder easier. I think arguing otherwise is foolish. From this point, let me diverge into a political argument and really, this is where this debate always ends up. With the banning of firearms for the "good of society", you're limiting the rights of the individual. That may be acceptable to you but it is not acceptable to others. So, like abortion, this debate will continue on and on forever, even if guns are banned in the future. Sacrifice a little perceived safety for a little freedom or vice versa. Where you fall on the spectrum doesn't matter to me and I'm not going to argue it. To each their own.
I wasn't arguing the legality of guns, BTW. I was merely pointing out that no matter what you do, humans will find ways to kill each other.
Oh, and comparing Japanese murder rate to American is folly. Trying to explain the difference through registered ammunition rounds is even worse. You're taking two vastly different cultures with completely different outlooks on freedom, individuality, and thought processes and ignoring all those factors in favor of one small law. It's the old "ice cream causes road rage" method of statistical analysis. It takes two statistics and draws a conclusion that they're somehow related without disproving other influences and their potential impact on said statistics.
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