[Pyrius]

I have a pistol in the house in an easily accessible place. I also have have children in the house. I live in a pretty burglarized part of town. The kids in the house are 6-11 years old. I figure the best way to avoid serious harm to the kids and still keep a threat is to load the gun with blanks. If the kids got to it and accidentally fired it, the gun would go off, doing only minor damage. If someone were to break in, they would have gunshots goin off all around them. The fear factor would keep them at bay. I belive that is the only safe way to have one in the house. In the case of the gentleman whos sun died, no he should not be punished severely. If he needed protection that badly he could have always gone out and legally bought the gun instead of using one he found in the bushes. If he couldnt legally get a gun there are several other non-lethal weapons he could get without a permit etc. I think his punishment should be nothing more than the same awarded to those responsible of accidental homicide-light jail sentence or probation and a fine.