In August of '98, I went out to my kitchen to see if I'd locked the back door, and surprised a burglar. My then housemate, Don Myron, chased him out walloping him with a leather jacket. (Don was stark naked at the time. It was an interesting thing to watch.) If I'd had a gun, I might have been able to deal with him, depending on where the gun was. If it had been in my purse, the burglar would have gotten it. (Instead, he got 75 cents.) If it had been in my bedroom, I couldnt' have gotten it. If I'd gone to sleep with loaded gun in my pocket, I would have been really stupid.
One of the reasons I am now a homeowner is that the manager of my old apartment building liked to let himself in to my apartment when I wasn't there. Someone told me that if he tried that in my house, I could shoot him. I don't know why I would. It would be much more fun to have him arrested. Especially as one of my old neighbors, who doesn't like the SOB any more than I do, is a cop.