>Would you ask people if they have a gun in the house as a prerequisite to letting your kids
>play in there?

I said this elsethread, but I didn't think to ask when my kids were little because it never occurred to me than any of my neighbors would have guns. No one I knew ever did (until I got online).

My sister, who does have young children, does ask and doesn't allow her kids in homes with guns, AFAIK.

>Half the housholds in the US have guns. http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
>
>The bad apples are the ones who leave them laying around. It causes the kind of paranoia you're
>indicating.

Except that sometimes, even locking up a gun isn't enough (though it's better than not). There was a case here last year of a teenager who broke into the gun case and took Dad's rifle (shotgun?), took it to school with him, and committed suicide (in a way that made it clear he had no intention of hurting anyone else).

>
>What if someone invaded your house in the middle of the night, and you didn't have a gun?

First, I've lived nearly 50 years without ever having anyone break into my home, let along doing so in the middle of the night when I was there. (Have had a car or two stolen and/or broken into, and a pocketbook stolen from a shopping cart.) I think the chances of it happening are exceptionally low.

I also think that if someone did break in, my chances of getting hurt are much higher if I have a gun. That raises the stakes for the burglar.

Tamar