More like guns either kill people or look pretty on a wall; encryption not only can't kill people, it also prevents people from stealing.

Even a nutjob armed with the latest encryption, still needs a gun to kill people.

>...encryption not only can't kill people, it also prevents people from stealing

To be fair, it can also prevent people from being killed in extremely oppressive regimes, just by association with 'x' out-topic (e.g.: the gay community).

> Even a nutjob armed with the latest encryption, still needs a gun to kill people.

I dunno, I'm pretty sure a determined enough assailant could beat someone to death with a hardcover copy of PGP Source Code and Internals.

At least, we've discovered prz's real reason for having the full source code printed. "You want a weapon? I'll show you a weapon..."

And I guess if they are really enterprising they could print off a bunch, build a potato gun analog, and go on a rampage. But then again in the time it takes to print even the single copy in some states they could go to the store and come back with an AR-15 and extended clip.

Or a truck, or a pressure cooker, or a knife. But yes, a gun works, too.

> or look pretty on a wall

or defend their owners, or hunt, or...

If I had to bet, I'd say at least 25% of US guns have been used within the past year, and 99.9% of those will not have been used to kill others.