Sadly this looks like my home state of Florida. It's legal to shoot people in the back here. We can thank Jeb Bush for that legal innovation. My Nana would probably knit this herself, God rest her zombie bones. Before you begin, I grew up with rifles and guns. I actually had a shotgun rack in my bedroom from 7th grade on. I've shot a lot of types of guns. Revolvers, semi-automatic handguns, various caliber rifles. Everything short of an assault weapon. Discourse: I contemplated buying a handgun, but then realized that I'd just find myself in bad situations. A bad guy who feels under control is more predictable. A bad guy who sees someone fumbling for a gun gets spooked and then really bad things happen. I was taught that if you decided to pull your weapon you have already decided to kill. The rest is just the motions to implement your will. I've decided that I can't kill, ergo no gun. I agree with harlyquin. Gun shops will preview movies and look for the weapons used. Because sure as sh*t there will be a surge in purchases in that particular weapon. The individuals who buy them tend to be in their young 20s, or parents buying that special "reward" for their child. Should we really personalize a weapon that is designed to kill? I would be irritated if an Eagle Driver painted a Disney Theme all over his/her plane and visited day schools. An F-15 is a machine designed to kill, as is a gun. We should not forget these things. As an individual who has friends who died from gunshots, and have had guns pulled on myself, I can say that they really doesn't make a difference owning one. You just tend to get yourself in more trouble (overconfidence.) I've had friends march around sketchy parts of town thinking they are invincible because they have a gun on them. They found out that they were very wrong. Normal folks tend to negotiate with their target when they draw (leave me alone or I'll shoot!) Opposition does not typically think that way. So you end up getting shot anyways. My friend, who was a marine scout sniper (63 kills), has one handgun, but it's locked in a case. The way he looks at it is that there is no way in hell he can get a gun trained on a target, fire and get his three pops in (2 body mass center, 1 head shot) if opponent barged into his house while he is watching TV with his kids, or at the drive thru. He keeps it as a reminder of a former life, and perhaps for bizarre emergencies (social breakdown after a disaster i.e. hurricanes.) He knows that the kids are more likely to kill themselves with the gun. And I can promise you a large dog will be a much more credible deterrent, and will not hesitate if the time ever comes. People love them (dogs), and you keep them in public (chicks dig them.) Doing that with a gun doesn't get the attention you want.