Perhaps I should stay out of this discussion.... but respectfully I will try...... I get that it is what... #2 in your constitution to have the right to bear arms... in Canada there is a a great deal of pressure being put on government to ban all handguns but of course there is resistance from those who use them for sport target shooting so very tight regulations is as close as we have moved the effort to date. That and a conservative government that pushed it to the back burner dispite public pressure.

I hear that arguement about it being a personal decision but your decision to have a gun affects my safety in the community if I happen to be your neighbour whereas my decision not to does not put you in the same risk. Statistically guns in homes for so called personal safety kill more homeowers (or family members or innocent bystander) than they kill any home intruders.

I am sorry Yoda you were put in such danger and I can totally respect how that experience has framed your opinion on the issue.

My opinion is founded simply on the basis of aspiring to live in a peaceful non violent society and for me hand guns for protection fundamentally oppose those aspirations.

Guns in themselves don't scare me because I do recognize they are just finely crafted hunks of steel but guns in the hands of people they do frighten me. Part of how my anxiety around this issues impacts my life is that I won't travel outside my country anymore since so called homeland security has armed untrained airport personnel and border customs officer. Stretching the topic perhaps but part of the bigger picture nonetheless because for me it is about an out of control culture of fear and the subsequent violence it insites. In my opinion.

Again just my opinion and while I wish your personal choice didn't impact me the evidence indicates that if you were my neighbour your choice to own a gun will put me and others at higher risk of voilence than if you did not own a gun.

I probably ranted too long in response to your statement to me Yoda but I thought it only fair that I clarify my point of view. Guns are symbolic of a bigger issue. Jesus was a pacifist and so am I.

Regardless of the different views on the subject expressed between you and me Yoda I think we do agree that the OP has the right to have her views considered when it comes to having guns kept in her own home. I hope her husband can respect her point of view and together they reach a decision that ensures their safety.