I've never seen the Koran, but it's not a deadly weapon (I suppose a hardcover copy could give someone a concussion if someone knocked their head in with one, but any hardcover book, wielded with enough force, could do that).
The Koran, containing much of the Judeo-Christian Bible, doesn't advocate violence to my knowledge, although manipulative demagogues could attempt to misuse it to incite violence.
Of course I believe that too many people own guns. You, Mikhail, have shared with us that you have Aspergers and are an alcoholic. While I won't make a blanket statement about you or other alcoholics or people with Aspergers or both, do you really believe that you and your family are safer because you own a weapon? Do you really believe when you meet other people with Aspergers or who are alcoholics, without making any blanket statements, that you are safer because they own weapons?
I knew a young man with Aspergers. In his early twenties, he went to the home of another young man who had started dating the mother of his child (after they had broken up). He started stabbing the second young man. The victim's father and brother rushed down the stairs, and clubbed the knife wielder to death. Three children were left fatherless that night--two of the victim's, one of the knife wielder's.
Yes, he didn't use a gun...but his emotions got the better of him, and he turned to violence. I don't know if any alcohol or drugs was also involved.
I knew him as a high school choir member. He'd been in my home. He was always pleasant but sometimes his emotions were absent or inappropriate.
And of course I have known alcoholics who have become violent--thank heavens they didn't use guns!
Here's how I see guns, liberal that I am:
Since Reagan, middle class men have lost much of their power. They've lost collective bargaining rights. They've lost job security. They've lost the ability to support their families without their wife working full time. They've lost numerous benefits that would have made their lives better--they have lost much of their economic power and freedom.
The Republican placebo? Guns!
I cannot imagine any human being who would rather not have the "power" that goes with being able to make a good living, have job security, a pension one day, be able to support one's family, etc. over a gun.
We liberals want you to have REAL freedom. The freedom to get an affordable education. The freedom to get affordable healthcare to help you cope with addictions, Aspergers, or other neurological challenges. The freedom from living from paycheck to four or five days before the next paycheck.
We don't want you to have the Republican placebo. We want you to have real freedom.
Disclaimer: As I have said, these are not blanket statements. There may be some people with Aspergers who can use guns safely. There may be some recovering alcoholics with long periods of sobriety who can own guns safely. I don't know you, Mikhail, or anyone else on this board.
If I had Aspergers or was an alcoholic--or had any serious mental health issues or addictions--I would choose not to own a gun (of course I choose not to own a gun, anyway, because we have had a good life and don't need the Republican placebo to feel free).