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If you own a gun, how many times have you used it, and how many times has it saved your life, or the life of another? Of course I know the probable response to that question is, "well, you never know but I'm prepared."
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The reality of the situation is that a firearm in the house increases your chance of being wounded or killed by one. Having taught firearms safety courses and been the founder and President of a college gun club, I think that most of these deaths are caused by people not know what they are doing. Much like an inexperienced driver taking a 911 turbo out to play, a gun in an untrained hand is just asking for disaster. If people are going to keep a gun for self-defense or home protection, then they
must take the responsibility to control access to that firearm (and the ammunition) as well as learn how to use it in the proper manner (including using the proper ammunition so as not to kill their neighbor or the child in the next room).
Unfortunatley, the pro-gun debate relies very heavily on people acting in both a responsible manner and employing a lot of common sense - both of which seem to escape many people's abilities. Fortunatley, of the 250 million guns in the United States, most are used in a lawful and safe manner. I only hope that we will end the polarized debate on whether guns should be availible or not, and get on to more meaningful debates as to how to deal the root causes of intentional and unintentional gun deaths. Something that escapes most public debates on the subject.