@ Leon
I find this quote from PTT somewhat amusing. Guns, just like cars/aircraft/boats/fireworks/chainsaws/etc... are unsafe if you don't know what you're doing or follow your training (like CCS which the thread is all about).
I wouldn't advocate operating cars/aircraft/boats/fireworks/chainsaws/etc without the proper training either. There's no contradiction. The difference between those items and guns, though, is that guns are
intended to cause damage.
Secondly, their sole intent is not just to "kill or injure others", they can be used to:
1. Act as a visual deterrent and sign of authoriity.
2. Put food on the table.
3. Give an advantage to a smaller force threatened by a larger but lesser armed force (a bit like point number 1).
2 requires the use of the gun to kill or injure the intended meal, as does 3 if things get "heated". In the best case of no shots being fired, the use of the gun in 1 and 3 is predicated on the knowledge that the gun is intended to kill or injure others: fear of that capability is what makes it work. Cars/aircraft/boats/fireworks/chainsaws/etc simply don't have that same effect...
If anything, your example 1 is evidence that guns are inherently dangerous.
think whether the nut-job would have used other means to kill/main these innocent individuals - the answer is probably "yes" using arson, petrol bombs, nail bombs, chemical attack, mowing them down in a large vehicle, etc, etc....
They probably would try; thing is, easy access to guns makes it easier for them to
do.