Guns - a Holiday gift you won't use

Gun sales have hit record highs, as the gift giving season includes arming people who, most likely, will never use the gift.

Most people want to avoid the situation where a Christmas gift is a politely received item, but one the recipient isn't likely to use. 

Sometimes, the gift might be a boldly printed tie or outrageous socks. Not so with guns. Although Americans purchased gungs by record numbers to give as Christmas or Holiday gifts, the fact is, the recipient is not likely to use the gift. Nevertheless, the expensive gifts of guns are being sold as those given out of "love" and as assurance of "protection" against violence.  

Indeed, while Americans are buying guns in record numbers to defend against numerous potential threats, including the risk of terrorism, the fact it, the guns themselves are dangerous, regardless of who or why they're used.

Guns are dangerious regardless of how they are used.

Meanwhile, no one I know wants to be in a position where they will use guns for personal protection. We don't want to be in a position where we need to use a gun to defend ourselves; moreover, there's no evidence that having a gun makes a person safer than if they had none at all.

As a matter of fact, just how many guns does a person need to protect themselves? If a person owns dozens of guns (becoming more common) the absolute fact is, only one gun at a time can be aimed and fired for any situation. In fact, most dangerous situations, where one might consider using a gun for protection, are totally unexpected and occur when guns aren't easily accessible. When was the last time someone was defended from a gun violence incident, because they were readily armed with their own personal gun? It's a rare event. (Tragically, even the Navy Seal marksman Chris Kyle, was unable to defend himself when he had acess to a gun but was, nevertheless, murdered by a mentally ill man.

In other words, Americans are spending millions of dollars on guns to give away as gifts to  people who will, for the most part, never use them for anything. Meanwhile, the number of guns in the population are so pervasive that it's impossible to say how anyone can feel safer with a weapon, when the risk of being harmed by a gun related accident are, likely, greater than the ability to defend against violence.

Worse, the enormous amounts of money spent buying and selling guns doesn't include dedicated tax revenue to apply toward prevention of violence or to help treat the mentally ill, who are often victims of gun-violence.

Consequently, when gift givers are looking for a gift nobody ever wants to use, then there's every reason to seek out a gun shop to buy just the right weapon. Buying guns are an expensive way to waste money. At least, outrageious ties or socks can always find use as a "regift". Guns, on the other hand, will rust over time and collect dust......because it's the gift we never want to use.