I do appreciate the opinions. As I strive to be OPEN-MINDED, i will read what anyone has to say. Gun crime is a shame, and a lot of it is due to ignorance. Like someone mentioned, knowing to point the muzzle in a safe direction and check the chamber would save many lives a year.
As far as guns in criminals hands, those figures don't represent law abiding citizens honestly.
And momma does carry a .45. Its a Springfield Armory custom 1911. She's got night sights, extended safety, extended slide release, extended mag release, and a mag-well. I personally don't like mag-wells as they look ugly... But she feels comfortable with it because it allows her to reload without taking her eyes off the target.
And as far as the bullet selection goes, her clips are stagger loaded for defense. One Hydra Shok JHP followed by a hot FMJ. There's quite some controversy about leather jackets stopping or impeding JHPs, hence the FMJs.
And I do love my guns, as does the majority of my family. And we do look for oppurtunities to use them. Thats why we hunt and target practice as much as possible.
Thanks for the input and keep it comin'