[MRM]

Cajun makes some excellent points. The selection of a weapon for home defense should be part of a well thought out overall security strategy. In that context, especially if she is not comfortable handling a weapon that is well suited for lethal home defense (there is no other kind) she may be better off taking other steps for self protection and not worrying about the responsibility of selecting, practicing, and storing a gun.

When I was prosecuting I noticed that a disturbing number of police reports started out with "I heard ___ banging on my door, demanding to be let in, so I opened the door and . . . ". People would open the door to anyone, even people who had threatened them before and were threatening them as they banged on the door, demanding to be let in. When in danger, they would call their mother, their sister, brother, of best friend, who would usually drive over, see an assault taking place, and only then would someone call the police. I used to ask victims why the opened the door, considering the bad guy was on the other side of a locked door and couldn't get in (which is why he was banging on the door). It simply never occurred to people that they didn't have to open the door and that they could call the police if they were in danger.

If their house is isolated, it makes more sense to have ready access to a firearm. But in any suburban or urban neighborhood, a locked door, an alarm system, a cell phone that can call 911, and the awareness of not opening the door to anyone who is not invited, is probably all the security the average person needs.