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Are guns designed to kill people? A design requires a designer. Guns have more than one designer. I doubt Bill Ruger designed my 10/22 to kill people; I'm fairly confident he designed it to outsell his competitors. Once you've a single exception to the suggested rule, "Yes" is the wrong answer.
Are rifle optics designed to kill people at great distance? Well, some are certainly used for that, but many also aren't, so a flat "Yes" is wrong there as well. Nevertheless, it is odd to ascribe this motive to people in the optics business.
Why would the designer's goal matter? If I manage to kill someone with a 10/22, the tool I used isn't likely to get me a more lenient sentence. If I did it intentionally, my criminal punishment will recognize both my intent and the result, but Bill Ruger's ideas about the 10/22 will not be material. If I killed someone accidentally my negligence will be an issue, but Bill Ruger's ideas about his product will still be immaterial.
In the context of public policy, "Are guns designed to kill people?" is a sort of sloppy category error that assigns a designer's intent to a result.
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