I'm just talking about the future. I would really feel more secure having one

This is exactly, precisely, the point that Micheal Moore was trying to make in Bowling for Columbine: In our country, people purchase guns because of fear. Because people think that the world is an unsafe place and that the gun will somehow make them more safe. The problem is the culture of fear, not the guns themselves. The fear is what makes people want to shoot other people.

I'm not trying to make light of your loss, or of your feelings of being violated. I've had my car ripped into twice, so I have experienced some of the same feelings before in my life. Agreed, not nearly on the same scale as you're feeling right now. And it wasn't my home that was broken into. But you have my sympathy for being the victim of a crime, and I'm very sorry to hear about your loss.

I think I'm with Rob. If I were in your shoes, I'd be trying to figure out how to relocate to a less crime-ridden neighborhood rather than trying to buy a gun. Buying a gun means that you're buying into the culture of fear and crime that exists in that neighborhood. You're becoming one of them.

I know that relocation is a difficult thing and it isn't always a viable option for some people, depending on situation and finances. Though events like this tend to make people look longer and harder at what's really important in their lives. Is relocation really impossible, or is it merely inconvenient? Is it more or less inconvenient than having to buy a gun just to feel safe?