--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That there are such devices as firearms…" description: "\"“That there are such devices as firearms, as easy to operate as cigarette lighters and as cheap as toasters, capable at anybody's whim of killing Fathe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_firearms_that-there-are-such-devices-as-firearms_2921737.jpg" --- # That there are such devices as firearms, as easy to… ![“That there are such devices as firearms, as easy to operate as cigarette lighters and as cheap as toasters, capable at anybody's whim of killing Father or Fats or Abraham Lincoln or John Lennon or Martin Luther King, Jr., or a woman pushing a baby carriage, should be proof enough for anybody that…” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_firearms_that-there-are-such-devices-as-firearms_2921737.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_firearms_that-there-are-such-devices-as-firearms_2921737.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_firearms_that-there-are-such-devices-as-firearms_2921737.jpg) > ““That there are such devices as firearms, as easy to operate as cigarette lighters and as cheap as toasters, capable at anybody's whim of killing Father or Fats or Abraham Lincoln or John Lennon or Martin Luther King, Jr., or a woman pushing a baby carriage, should be proof enough for anybody that being alive is a crock of shit.”” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that the ease of firearms makes life precarious and meaningless. **In simple terms:** Firearms make life fragile and absurd. Key Takeaway Recognize the fragility of existence. Themes violence existentialism technology Mood cynical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy debate - peace activism - personal safety Key Concepts Philosophy politics social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does weapon accessibility affect societal trust? - What alternatives can reduce violence? A Different Perspective Solutions are complex and contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Firearms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firearms/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [There used to be a time when people used to hold up cigarette lighters and candles at concerts, and the place was aglow to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/there-used-to-be-a-time-when-people-used-to-hold-up-cigarette/) [Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/) > [If liberals can seize our guns because they are dangerous, we have no chance of holding on to our cars and our homes. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/if-liberals-can-seize-our-guns-because-they-are-dangerous-we-have-no/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [Night terrors are very different from nightmares. A lot of people will think they're the same, but they're really not. Night terrors - you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-harris/night-terrors-are-very-different-from-nightmares-a-lot-of-people-will/) [Shelby Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-harris/) > [As I continue through my acting career I tend to wish I were a little shorter and a few pounds lighter so casting directors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-preston-rogers/as-i-continue-through-my-acting-career-i-tend-to-wish-i-were-a-little/) [James Preston Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-preston-rogers/) > [I'm not really a heavy smoker any more. 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Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. 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She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Firearms quotes > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Gun control laws don't work. What is worse, they act perversely. While legitimate users of firearms encounter intense regulation, scrutiny and bureaucratic control, illicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-polsby/gun-control-laws-don-t-work-what-is-worse-they-act-perversely-while/) Daniel D. Polsby > [Can you understand why the Congress, most states and most cities refuse to pass legislation requiring the registration and licensing of any and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/can-you-understand-why-the-congress-most-states-and-most-cities/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-can-preserve-its-liberties-if-its-rulers-are-not-warned/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [For an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/for-an-unarmed-man-may-be-attacked-with-greater-confidence-than-an/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [After more than two decades of trying to destroy the firearms rights of more than 80 million law-abiding American gun owners - and statistically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gottlieb/after-more-than-two-decades-of-trying-to-destroy-the-firearms-rights/) Alan Gottlieb > [If liberals can seize our guns because they are dangerous, we have no chance of holding on to our cars and our homes. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/if-liberals-can-seize-our-guns-because-they-are-dangerous-we-have-no/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [I don't care if they're licensed legal firearms, people who are not highly trained putting guns in their hands is a recipe for disaster.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-mccarthy/i-don-t-care-if-they-re-licensed-legal-firearms-people-who-are-not/) Garry McCarthy > [It's the camel's nose in the tent. Look at Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Idi Amin--every one of these monsters, on seizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-heston/it-s-the-camel-s-nose-in-the-tent-look-at-stalin-mussolini-hitler-mao/) [Charlton Heston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-heston/) > [In addition, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act provides protection for those in the firearms industry from lawsuits arising out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-ney/in-addition-the-protection-of-lawful-commerce-in-arms-act-provides/) [Bob Ney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-ney/) > [Without freedom there will be no firearms among the people; without firearms among the people there will not long be freedom. Certainly there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-knox/without-freedom-there-will-be-no-firearms-among-the-people-without/) Neal Knox > [Muzzle control has to be a religion. You cannot point that weapon at one of your brothers-or yourself. Know where you barrel is at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-couch/muzzle-control-has-to-be-a-religion-you-cannot-point-that-weapon-at/) [Dick Couch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-couch/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Browse all 223 Firearms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firearms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That there are such devices as firearms, as easy to operate as cigarette lighters and as cheap as toasters, capable at anybody's whim of killing Father or Fats or Abraham Lincoln or John Lennon or Martin Luther King, Jr., or a woman pushing a baby carriage, should be proof enough for anybody that being alive is a crock of shit.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kurt Vonnegut" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/that-there-are-such-devices-as-firearms-as-easy-to-operate-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Firearms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/that-there-are-such-devices-as-firearms-as-easy-to-operate-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_firearms_that-there-are-such-devices-as-firearms_2921737.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_firearms_that-there-are-such-devices-as-firearms_2921737.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ab/kurt-vonnegut-41_firearms_that-there-are-such-devices-as-firearms_2921737.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That there are such devices as firearms, as easy to operate as cigarette lighters and as cheap as toasters…” — Kurt Vonnegut", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kurt Vonnegut", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“That there are such devices as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/that-there-are-such-devices-as-firearms-as-easy-to-operate-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/that-there-are-such-devices-as-firearms-as-easy-to-operate-as/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```