Guns are for hunting and for the police. I was brought up in a home where I got acquainted with guns at an early age. I shot skeet before I could ride a bike. I fired handguns and revolvers when I was about 6-7. Im the typical child who got used to guns at a young age, and I can tell from reading some other posts here that there are others like me on this thread. Guns are to me, from an artistic standpoint, just like instruments. I can appreciate the beauty in a Winchester 1894 as much as a Fender Jazz '64.
However, we should not forget firearms are made for one purpose, and that is the destruction of life. Whether or not that life is a pidgeon, an elk or a human, guns are tools to kill other lifeforms with. I don't think guns are awesome. I don't think they are cool. They are guns. They are dangerous weapons. They should be treated with respect. They are nothing to collect or show off.
The only reason I own a gun is hunting. Hunting for food, mind you, and I think it is vital that every part of the pray is consumed somehow. Be that meat, hide or antlers.
So just to be clear, I hate what so many hunters have become, or what hunting has become lately. Killing animals for fun is just ridiculous. I can see the appeal in hunting elephants, kudus or wildebeests, but I wouldnt do it myself.
I believe gun control is necessary. I do not think that people in general need anything other than a rifle or/and a shotgun, and that's only if they hunt or compete in skeet shooting or the like. Handguns might be fun for target shooting, but the ownership of handguns should be limited for people who don't actually compete in shooting competitions. (mind you, they usually just own a number of '22s, at the most.) Automatic weapons should not be allowed to anyone but the police and the army.
Also, the gun craze that a bunch of people here seem to display just seems immature to me. "Guns are awesome." What? Why? They are guns. Designed to kill. There's nothing awesome about death.