Interesting...

And second, in response to nic, first off, thanks for actually summarizing your thoughts into an original post... It seems like you really live in fear of your fellow man. Maybe you think you need a gun to be safe. But statistically you're more likely to shoot yourself or a family member than to ever have to shoot at an intruder or some other member of the criminal element (assuming of course, that you're not in fact a member of the criminal element). When you add that to the fact that most criminals obtain their guns illegally (see; stolen from people who have guns) doesn't it seem like the best way to reduce this would be to eliminate "legal" guns from the system?
And no, I'm not suggesting a complete ban on weapons, but realistically, everytime I hear somebody say they need an automatic weapon to hunt deer, I conclude that this person probably needs a different hobby, like badmitten, where they're less likely to hurt themselves or others.
I don't live in fear of my fellow man. I live in a world where my fellow man fears me. It's human nature of course. If I have something someone wants, they will try to take it from me if their want is that high. So too will be my recourse when pushed to the outermost brinks of desperation. we will have to see.

As for statistics, they aren't a fortune-telling tool. They are a resource for examining history. It's always best to learn from our mistakes, so instead of looking at statistics to reason why gun ownership is bad, why dont you look at them to figure how to make them better?
I'm quite sure that a parent can safely lock away a gun from a child. And how about some parent-child counseling as well? I was taught from a very young age not to touch grandpa's shotgun, and i never did. not even once.
It's not a perfect system and parents and kids will fuck up. how does that mean that others more responsible can't have one if they feel it protects them?

Very interesting...