This is how it goes at my house. The guns are all locked in what we call the Armageddon Room. While I deal with the bad guy, my wife goes to get the hardware. Yes I may get hurt or killed but it will happen while the wife is protecting my kids. and thats what matters most for me. and just so you know I have actually had several armed encounters. (as a Police Officer) and have taken knives from bad guys during fights.

Now its never happened at home but im betting that when the bad guy hears the slide rack on my 870 he's gonna be3 looking for a way out. And I'm gonna let him go.

No kids, and there are guns loaded for self defense 24/7. When not at home they are locked away with the exception of the one on me.

You should always have control of your firearm. With or without kids. There is no rule saying you can't wear your handgun while around the house.

Having a gun locked in the safe during a robbery or home invasion.... is about like not having a gun at all.

we have four children and exactly two loaded guns in our house. We also go by the system where the kids can look at any gun anytime they ask myself or the wife. We drop what we are doing and get it out for them to inspect. It is also a good idea to keep them up high(on top of a book shelf) until the kids are a little older.

Kept a loaded pistol in my night stand until my son was born. After his first birthday I purchased a 22 gun safe for about the price of a new rifle and scope. I feel it was well worth it. How does one live with themself in the event that a gun falls into the hands of a young child and the worst imaginable happens?
I also had a home security alarm system installed and have a panic button near my night table instead of my pistol.

good question posted and even better reply's. having little ones in the house, i purchased a safe and locked it all away. then purchased/installed motion sensitive lights in key areas around the house.
home protection systems for base models run around $500.00. if kids are an issue-think twice about having the loaded guns accessible. checkout some of the new lock boxes? i hear those work well-

Years ago, I had a guy try to break into my apartment. I had a .357, but I didn't have to use it--I challenged him, and off he went. I wouldn't have been nearly so brave without the pistol, though. As it was, I could see him, he couldn't see me, and that was the end of it.

I've got my revolver in a GunVault that's bolted to my bed. The way I look at it . . . Snakes & Night Intruders . . . . is there a difference?

Once I've have blinded an intruder with the shotgun shells I've loaded in the first 3 chambers, the .45 Long Colts I've loaded in the last 2 chambers give me 2 opportunities to eliminate the headache caused by the first 3 chambers.

We spend too much money housing, defending, and feeding criminals caught in the act of killing others with knives & guns. Generally, it's too late for a call to the police to defend homeowners when they are being attacked. I love my Thunder Five so much I started sellin' um at: www.Thunder5.com

I always contemplated keeping a gun in an accessable area in case of emergency; however, now that my daughter is 18 months old and seems to be getting into everything (sometimes truely amazing me how) I decided to go with a home security system. I just don't feel comfortable leaving a loaded gun around. No matter how many times you think safety, it's only human nature to forget sometimes. Just my 2 cents though.

I understand when people say they don't think they'll need a loaded gun for defense, but then again, who ever thought 9/11 would happen?

Blind somebody? No offense, but I do hope you like living in poverty when some low life and his John Edwards type attorney sue you and win for maiming him. I live in a very conservative state, and many a jury here would hammer you. I don't want imagine what a jury in a PC state would do to you. Deadly force is appropriate in many situations. To maim (blind) someone likely would be an admission that deadly force wasn't warrented under the circumstances. You can do what you wish, but it sure doesn't seem like a good Idea to me!