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Our house was broken into a few years ago, and Hubs wanted to get a gun. I was dead-set against it, for all the reasons that @Mrs. Jacks said. It just doesn't feel safe to me to have a gun in the house, no matter how many safes, locks, devices, etc, you put in place. Besides, if your plan is to own a gun for protection, I just don't see how you can honestly think that by the time you realize there is an intruder in your home, you can get up, get to the safe, open the safe, load the gun, and be ready by the time the intruder has found you and/or your family. I respect others' rights to own a gun (within reason - assault weapons should absolutely be banned), but it's just not something I want for my family.

DH would like a gun in the house and I've said absolutely no way. You can take every precaution that you can think of ... but there will always be something that you have not thought of and that is how a child might find themselves holding the gun. I don't think a gun would make me feel any safer. The rate of accidents that occur involving children just freaks me out too much.

If I felt the need I would not be against getting my concealed weapons permit and I would carry. We have hunting guns in the house, but they are locked in a gun safe where only DH and I know the combination. I don't think there will ever be a reason to own a handgun, but if need be I'm not against it.

@MrsTiz: I am in health care, but am not a nurse. Though it doesn't matter, I'm a pediatrician... But anyone who has dealt with pediatric trauma is likely to have been deeply affected by what they have seen.

I grew up with a gun in the house and I KNEW BETTER than to go near it. So did my brother. Neither of us messed with it or went near it. It was drilled into our heads from a young age and it was always kept way out of our reach. It was for protection, plain and simple. There were a couple of incidents where someone tried to ram the door down or break in, and my dad went and got his pistol.

If we lived in an area where we felt it necessary, we'd have one. And then we'd probably move, ha. But we live in a safe area and we have a house alarm, so I feel very safe in my home.

No. I respect guns/gun safety, and I do respect people's right to have them. But with 2 little ones in the house, absolutely not.

I would never carry or own a gun. I know for sure I would end up shooting DH thinking he was an intruder or vice versa. We keep a military issued knife in our bedroom and I have pepper spray and that's the most we will ever have.

No guns for me. I grew up around guns (for hunting and target shooting) and I feel very comfortable with guns, but I'm not interested in having them in my house. Actually, where we live now, it's illegal to shoot a gun. So even though we live rurally and deal with some very bold predators (bears, mountain lions, and coyotes), we've just learned other ways to protect ourselves, since guns aren't even an option.

Also, personally, I would never keep a gun for self-defense. It's anecdotal, but I know a lot of people who own guns. I've never met a person who has successfully defended him/herself using a firearm, but I know lots and lots of stories about "accidents" that happened with people who were trained and educated about safe gun use.

I would never allow a gun in my house under any circumstances, for all the reasons @Mrs. Jacks said. And maybe it's a cultural/regional thing, but I also don't know a single person who isn't in law enforcement that owns a gun. I've never shot one or even touched one. I feel like if there was a situation where I could use a gun to protect myself I wouldn't actually be able to go through with shooting a person.

And I know I say this a lot on these boards, but again, I'm happy to live in MA, where gun laws are a bit stricter.

@Rachel: fellow prideful MA resident here =) recently i had to go to walmart <shudder> to get something for camping. there was a guy having a fit at the sporting goods counter because he was here visiting from somewhere down south & needed a gun that day so he could go shooting. he was irate that here he couldn't just waltz into a store & leave fully armed. what would you ever need a gun for in such a hurry??

Yes.

@ChopSuey119: We have several guns, too (including a shot gun). When I was single, I actually defended myself with a shotgun against an uninvited house guest.

@mrs. bird: @MrsBrewer: here where i'm at you can just walk in, get a gun/ammo and walk out. Now they're just shotguns, no handguns, but there is no wait period so maybe he was used to that? I didn't know it was diffrent elsewhere!