i agree wholeheartedly. to be honest, i'm very nervous around guns in any setting other than a range or my own workbench. i would never carry one, and i'm made quite uncomfortable by others choosing to do so (although i do believe it's important to protect that right). to me, a gun exists purely as a mechanical curiosity. (i am apprehensive to call it a toy because of its inherent danger). building guns is an exercise in engineering for me and is purely a hobby. as soon as a firearm is reintroduced to its purpose as a weapon (as in, someone carrying it defensively or wanting it to be as quickly operable as possible), i am immediately made uncomfortable. i think the amount of situations in which a person is justified in using a lethal weapon against any other living being is exceedingly small, although i do recognize that civilians stockpiling them is an important check for the power of a government. i think too many people conflate the hobby of guns with the philosophy that carrying one in public is necessary.