Hehe ok, I was just kidding :) When I read that line I remember the time I asked my dad what would happen if someone was shot point-blank with a .45, and he said his ass would be across the street. He hardly ever says something like that so it stuck with me.
I actually know very little about firearms, though I most definately support the right to own them. I'm more of a sword man myself.
Swords certainly have a more noble lineage. In the days of yore, an apprentice warrior would train for years, ever seeking to develop a relationship with his steel. But then firearms came along, and any farm boy with a good eye and steady finger could drop you from 100 yards out.
I am a firearms enthusiast, myself, but I think I'd concede that the decline of the sword, and the attendant advent of firearms did have a decivilizing effect on society.