If I had a gun, I could have run up to them and stopped them.

Perhaps, if you had it with you. My thoughts would go something like this:

- Will the gun do any good if it is not with you when you need it? If it's locked in a safe in the basement when you come home to find your house being robbed, is it really helping? To be effective, you'd need to get a permit, and carry said firearm at all times.

- OK, so you happen to have the gun with you when you come home to find a group of men ransacking your house. How do you determine that they don't also have weapons? Is your family with you? Are you willing to put yourself and them at risk while you try to defend your house against an unknown force?

- Perhaps the value of your life, and those that you love, is more important than having to deal with the insurance company over a stolen TV.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time, I just wonder whether that gun will really buy you peace of mind. I live about 200 yards from a Chicago neighborhood that is a poverty-stricken, drug-filled war zone. Some of that leaks over into my neighborhood from time to time, but I would never consider owning a gun. Just too many risks.

I'd still go for the dog. I't always at home, always defending, whether you are or not. Besides, dogs are great in any case.

--Dan.