[Oni]

I definitely agree with this. In the event someone attacks you with the Intention to kill (firearm or otherwise), the police aren't going to attend there and then.

That said, there can be a fine line with what's considered "self-defense" and "manslaughter". The decision to act on self-defense needs to be warranted and absolutely correct. This Is where a lot of cases get blown way out of proportion- particularly when there's so many sides to the story (from media, lawyers, etc). It's such cases that makes gun ownership all the more difficult.

"Oh shit, I'm being attacked. But I'm a responsible gun-owner, so it's in my safe. Let me just ask this nice fella if I can walk over to my safe and fetch it before he kills me."

You're more likely to be struck by lightning twice than be murdered with a gun if you're the average American.

False.

If you have an alarm system, you should have warning and you should always phone law enforcement first. If they've already got a gun on you, then it's foolish to try to grab yours. Assuming you're a responsible gun owner, you know this. The whole point is that you'd be enabled to defend yourself if you want.

The chance of being struck by lightning is 1 in 3000. For some, the chance of being murdered is less than 1 in 100000.