Sorry, that is a bit misleading.
Unprecedented in the sense of readily available items.
The only other think I can think of that might be considered as deadly is a vehicle; but vehicles offer a lot of limitations. You have to actually drive people over, and terrain is a limiting factor. It's not easy to hit someone, then back up and hit other people in as timely a fashion as you can shoot people with a firearm. Vehicles are typically more expensive than guns and also require licensing, insurance, and have other checks and balances to help prevent accidents/homicides. I realize none of the licensing matters to someone who wants to commit vehicular homicide.
thats is specious. none of the licensing or registration of automobiles has anything to do with preventing vehicular homicide.
you may as well claim the IRS is just reducing our "disposable income" so we dont blow it all on candy and junk food so "it's for our own good"
people have been killing people with "vehicles" for centuries, or do you porpose that "war horses" were not dangerous, or Hannibal's Elephants were properly licensed and registered thus, harmless?
if one is of a mind to do some killin, even the magical disappearance of all firearms from the face of the earth would not dissuade them.
you lefties make a HUGE DEAL about how "guns make killin easier for muderers" but the REAL utility in firearms is that it makes their deployment in DEFENSE much faster and easier than previous playing field leveling measures, while their use in OFFENSE remains largely the same as a sword among a population of unarmed japanese peasants was 200 years ago.
the use of a sword, a spear a club or even a knife against unarmed victims is a huge advantage for the assailant, but when the victims are similarly armed, the advantage goes to those most proficient in the weapon available.
those who made a living by the use of a sword were ALWAYS better at the use of said weapon than the guy who kept his great grandfather's sword over the mantle and never used it, but against the average bandit, it was sufficient.
likewise, a pistol close to hand is more than adequate for defense against a similarly armed asailant, but the LACK of a pistol against an assailant armed with even a kitchen knife or baseball bat rapidly swings the advantage to the attacker.
as the attacker is the INSTIGATOR of violence, he has the automatic advantage of preparation, while the victim remains blissfully unaware of this assailant's intentions until the moment of the attack.
your proposition of hurdles and justifications and explanaitions and requests and pleadings before anyone can own a gun simply moves the advantage even further to the attacker's side, while leaving the ever growing victim pool at the mercy of the criminal element.
nobody should have to explain why they should be allowed to have a gun, the only time this needs any explanation is after somebody gets shot.
THAT'S your "due diligence" after you shoot somebody, you have to justify it, if you fail to justify your shooting you go to prison and never get to own a gun again.
demanding proof that your gun WONT be used to commit a crime is the cheapest, stupidest and least intelligent argument of the gun control lobby, but because it makes people FEEL like they might be safer, they foolishly accept this faulty premise quite easily, just as you have.