Eugene Kane: Ironist

Here's what he says in print:

My late father owned several guns during my childhood, including a heavy .357 Magnum pistol and a sawed-off shotgun he kept in the basement. A construction worker, my father had no real use for the guns other than the protection of his home and family in an inner city Philadelphia neighborhood that was tougher than some but nowhere as violent 40 years ago as some of Milwaukee's worst neighborhoods are today.

EK goes on to state that his father never fired the weapon at any people--which is exactly the hope and dream of any law-abiding citizen who owns a weapon, by the way...

The best reason for his father's gun-ownership emerges a bit later on:

The gun never represented real danger to me until my teenage years, when I often found myself fearful whenever trying to sneak back into the house after curfew. I knew the slightest sound would arouse my light-sleeping father to set off on patrol to find out the source of the noise.

The idea that he might shoot me by accident became more than enough motivation to get home at a reasonable hour.

After all that, EK manages to turn on a dime (at his age!!):

There are many solid reasons why Americans own guns, but those who grow up with guns in the household understand it often represented more risk than safety.

But let's not deal with EK's own personal testimony, nor any actual statistical stuff.

Because there isn't any.