So, if violence with guns has fallen so much and we should all be so proud about it...

[NickB79]

15. You can own guns and just leave them locked up when not in use as well

That's what I've done. As a teenager, I had to use a hunting gun that I'd just loaded when the screaming started to threaten my abusive father who had just choked my mom in the kitchen, and had cornered my brother, sister and myself in the bedroom. It worked, no shots were fired, but I kept a loaded gun around for years after that simply because of the deep-set fear it created.

Fast-forward 20 years, and I'm now I've gotten counseling for my childhood, a college degree, make a middle-class income, have a loving wife and 5-yr old daughter, and live in an area with very low rates of crime. I've read the stats and know the risk of me needing one of my guns is very low, too low for me to worry about on a daily basis. I've had friends and coworkers ask if I'd like to go to a conceal-carry licensing class with them, and I've turned them down.

All the guns I own, either for hunting, target practice or self-defense, are now stored locked up (trigger locks on each gun, stored inside a gun safe, with the ammo stored separately in heavy-duty ammo cans) unless I'm actually going to use them.