I believe that any person who wants to have a gun in their home should have the right to own one. However, I think the purchase of a gun should require that the purchaser prove their ability to use it correctly and intentionally. I have shot a gun. It is not easy to hit what you are aiming at unless you practice a great deal. I think you have to prove that you will practice and take care of your firearm before you purchase one. And if you don't feel comfortable using one then you should not have one. If you find them frightening, then you will just get yourself in trouble. Guns are weapons of death. They can be used in many ways.
It is of course ridiculous to hold a tool responsible for its own misuse as so many of the previous posters seem to. Many people especially children shoot themselves and others because they are too uneducated to use them appropriately. How is an inanimate object responsible for its own use? It is the responsibility of the owner to control a gun's use. If your child manages to find your gun, load it, and shoot themselves with it, I've got to wonder what sort of parent you are. Guns should n-e-v-e-r be kept loaded. Even if your kid somehow managed to steal the key to your gun case and get the gun out, if it is not loaded then it should not cause a problem. If case you don't know, most modern gun have clips (not revolvers of course). It actually takes strength to load bullets in a clip. I would think that a responsible parent who explains that guns are not toys in a realistic serious and ungentle manner, then keeps their unloaded guns locked up would not have any problems. And before you forget, you as a parent are responsible for knowing where your children are. If you child goes to someone elses house to play, then maybe you should ask them if they have guns and if they keep them appropriately contained. I grew up with guns in the house as my father is a serious hunter. I never once thought I should play with them and neither did my very troublesome bother. My dad took one out a showed us what it was (which eliminated the need for curiousity) and then proceeded to clean it in front of us while explaining what the dangers were. He treated it like the dangerous object it could be and that transferred to us.
