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A gun gives its wielder an efficient way of killing someone. There should be controls in place to ensure that not everyone has this power. This is especially the case if the leading cause of gun deaths is not self-defense (it's usually self-destruction).
The self-defense argument doesn't stand if you do the research. As one example, women have a much greater chance of being shot to death by their partners than they would by some stranger. Furthermore, for most people, having a gun in the home only increases the chances of accidental and intentional gun deaths (e.g. their partners).
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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