those accidents would be greatly reduced if people took better precautions
still, the numbers are statistically small
Bill has a nice list there, but it does not compare, for example, how many people are killed in car accidents
or how many people die from illness, etc
it also does not compare how many would-be deaths are prevented by gun ownership
a difficult stat to tabulate, for sure
as for security, a lot depends on where you live
i suspect there are some places that are safer if you do not have a gun
simply because you are not as likely to be shot AT - lol
other places - everyone else has a gun - you better not be the odd man out
intruders rarely pick houses at random
smart ones "case" the place in advance
if the guy living there is a 6'3" former paratrooper, they tend to look elsewhere

i have only had a break-in once, some 30+ years ago
at the time, i was living alone - and the burglar seemingly knew i was at work
point being, i don't really need a gun for security
if i were to have one for that purpose, it would probably be a .357 mag revolver
it doesn't just put a leaky hole in things
it tends to come out bigger than it went in and knocks them down, as well
i don't think it makes sense to shoot someone with the intention of wounding them
if you are going to shoot them, make sure they don't come back later
aim for the center of mass