I've given my spiel on personal firearm use before - while I'm not a fan of them, and certainly don't plan on owning one myself for the foreseeable future, I certainly have no problem with adults who do choose to own and use them.

More importantly, in the abstract, I think citizens in our society should be allowed to be able to hurt and kill each other.

That capability, in my mind, is an essential part of being an adult. Grownups of all sorts live with their finger on a trigger - if not of a gun, then of a computer, or a dependant, or a bit of paperwork. We are, all of us, capable of hurting and destroying each other, physically, financially or mentally. Refraining from doing so, whether from empathy or common sense or fear of consequences, is the essential element of responsibility that defines adulthood and allows society to function.

Anti-gun types claim that proliferation of weapons are what allow tragedies to occur. Pro-gun types claim that proliferation of weapons are what stop tragedies in their tracks. I'd say that the proliferation of a particular type of weapon isn't the issue.