Should You Buy a Gun to Protect Your Home

05-01-2020

It makes sense at first, that having a gun handy should improve your home security. After all, if someone tries to break in while you are there, you can just shoot them. This may even be legal to do in many jurisdictions. However, it's important to understand the other risks you take when you bring a firearm into your house.

The Laws

First, understand the laws in your area. While some places may allow you to shoot any intruder or even an unwelcome guest in your home, most do not. Some states and counties allow you to shoot an intruder if, and only if, that person is a threat to your immediate personal safety.  Exactly what that means may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Maybe it means you can shoot them if they threaten you verbally, but usually, it only means if they have a gun (or another weapon) and they give you a reason to think that they want to harm you or a loved one. So, in many cases, you can go to jail if you shoot someone just because they broke into your home with the intent to steal something. Before you shoot, you need to confront them and see if they just run away. You generally aren't supposed to shoot them if they run away. But if they shoot at you or otherwise threaten you with bodily harm, fire away! (If your jurisdiction allows that.) You also don't want to accidentally shoot someone who you know and care about who just happened to stop by unexpectedly in the middle of the night. Asking questions first, instead of shooting first, can save the life of someone you love. [Please note that we are not lawyers and are not familiar with the laws in your particular area, so please consult with a professional lawyer in your area before acting on our opinions.]

Where Do You Store That Weapon?

Second, make sure you understand the significant risks you take when bringing a firearm into your home. To be safe, and want you to be safe, you need to lock that weapon up in an appropriate gun safe and it should be unloaded as well.  For extra security, it is recommended that you store the ammunition in a different location. This prevents accidental discharges and similar accidents. So when that intruder breaks in you need to get your weapon out of the safe, get the bullets, load the weapon and then go confront the potential bad guy.

The Odds

According to the Annals of Internal Medicine. Just having a firearm in your home increases dramatically the chances that you or someone else in your home will be killed with it. Not just a few percentage points either it's like 2 or 3 times as likely. That’s a 200%-300% increase. This accounts for all kinds of gun deaths including accidents, suicide, and domestic violence. These kinds of gunshot deaths happen much more often than defending against intruders.  

Now you may say “I am careful. I handle and store my weapon properly. I am not suicidal and my family would never harm each other.” And this may be true, but you never really know what will happen in a few months or many years down the road. Can you be certain your children will keep a safe distance from the gun? Children do the stupidest things sometimes unpredictably. Children have a unique knack for getting into things even when they are locked up and out of sight. Can you be certain that your spouse will never grow to dislike you, or do something stupid in the heat of an argument? Can you be sure that if everything went horribly wrong for a long period that you would never consider taking your own life? How certain can you be that your teenage son won't take your AR-15, that you bought to protect your family, and use it to shoot up the bullies at school?

A Safer Alternative

Let us suggest a safer alternative to protecting your home. Hire a professional security company to install and monitor a home security system with cameras and motion detectors and everything. This way, you don’t have to worry about shooting intruders or any of the other risks associated with bringing a firearm into your home. Get a FREE Quote for home security systems