Oh, fiddle-faddle.
By the way, how many of the gun enthusiasts keep the gun out and loaded, all the time? Do you carry a loaded, cocked pistol? Do you keep one in your car?
It's kind of a rhetorical set of questions--my point is, of course, that if you do not have the gun right ready to go, it is exceedingly unlikely you'll get it an emergency. Even if you do have everything set--which is against every signle rule of gun safety I was taught or have ever heard of--you probably won't get the thing on target fast enough.
Oh, and here's another rhetorical question. If you've got a gun for home defense, what kind of gun is it? what kind of gun do you think of? I bet the majority think handgun; the right answer, a twelve gauge loaded with birdshot, just isn't sexy enough. Friend of mine, few years back, had to back some clown who crawled in through his window out of the house...he used a twelve gauge with a pistol grip that he found under his bed...only problem was, he damn near got shot when the cops showed up, to find him standing on this yutz's neck with the barrel screwed into his ear. (Best line: "What the hell were you doing, crawling in my window?" "Well," said the loony, "You didn't answer when I knocked on the door.")
Yep, just another liberal. Just keep the snarling to a min, please, keeping in mind that a) I was brought up in the country, and yes, I've fired guns up to and including a Sharps .50--but no handguns other than paintball, a game I truly suck at. b) Some of my best friends have guns. Lots of them. I have no worries about their ownership. c) My first MA teacher had a home invasion near her house a couple of years back, and they weren't able to catch all those bastards right away (eventually, they found the guy under a car across the street from her). She stuck a clip in the Taurus, and put it on the dining room table with the front door and grille locked. Good for her.
The fantasy (and largely, it is a fantasy) is that nine gangsters out of, "Cyborg," are gonna kick down your door as Western Civilization falls. If that happens, you're dead meat most likely. Thing to do for REAL self defense against the armed, is work to make sure that this scenario does not happen.
Personally, I have a Red Ryder BB gun (no, I'm not kidding) and a big back door. The arts have graced me with superhuman powers, and I feel sure I can get out that door and over the backyard fence pretty quick. They can have my 18 year old RCA TV and the Apple. That's why I got insurance.
But if I can't get out the door, or somebody else in the house can't--Ahura-mazda help them. As was already mentioned, the arts are a lot more portable and available.