Well, to be entirely fair, if Loughner had attacked Giffords with a fork, its very likely that no one would be dead. It is ALOT easier to kill someone with a gun than a fork, or even a knife.
Not saying that to support gun control, but lets be fair here . . . although anything can be used as a weapon, a gun is a much better and more effective weapon than many other choices . . . whether you are attacking someone or defending yourself.
As a quick example, I have a couple of quite deadly bladed weapons in my house. However, if I was really afraid of being attacked in my home (like I lived in a more dangerous area) I'd buy a gun.