>>>>The fact that criminals will still acquire them, legal or not.
>>>
>>>That is true here as well, still normal citizens do not feel threathened, as its quite unlikely here that a robber will use a gun for anything other than threatening (Yes, there are incidents otherwise). Gun related deaths are rare here: About 20 times lower incidence than in the US.
>>>
>>>>Having a close relative who was forced to shoot an intruder (who shot at her first when he gained access to her home after her repeatedly yelling she was calling the police and she had a gun). I have a few other friends who needed (and some used and some did not) a weapon at home for protection. But that is just one example. I have read thousands of police reports. Home security is just one reason, but it is a real reason.
>>>
>>>I've been informed that some stats conclude that it is 43 times more likely that a gun in the house will kill family friendly people rather than violent intruders. Now lets say that this study is flawed and its only about 2 times in total. Is it still worth it?
>>>
>>>The above would mean that your example is either very exceptional or you are not telling me of the cases you know where the gun in the house was lethal to anyone other than violent intruders.
>>
>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate
>>
>>My guess is only a small fraction of the "homicide" numbers were "justified", and of those only a portion were against violent intruders. So the ratio of
>>
>>( suicide + unintentional ) / ( justified homicide )
>>
>>is likely pretty high.
>
>I agree, there might be doubts about the exact numbers and definition, but no-one is going to convince me that it is below 1. So if a gun in the house is less likely to be used in justified homicide than otherwise, whats the point in having it in the first place? You're doing yourself and your family a huge disservice by having one.
>
>Walter,

Of course by that logic we should ban automobiles because the odds of someone in your family dieing in a car crash are far higher than being shot. Heck, driving isn't even a right so it'd be much easier to ban. At a minimum we should ban children in cars, because distracted driving is causing more accidents every year and the number one distraction in a car is not a cellphone, but other people, especially children.

Or perhaps we should ban prescription painkillers since ODing on them is the fastest rising cause of teen death the last couple years and is expected to accelerate. Better get out in front of this to "save the children".