Wraith:

You are right.. i am an incorrigible optimist. I do not believe in evil people. I believe in ignorant and misguided people. If ignorance and lack of guidance exists it is the failing of society and that means us. Terming some humans as evil absolves us from the responsiblity of making sure nobody is squeezed to the point where he must do something absolutely crazy.

Death is death and the manner of death is irrelevant to those who die. It may make a difference to those who are left behind. But even to those, the concept of vengance only treats their anger. It has no effect on the feeling of loss. That is the real issue they loved ones have to deal with. The feeling of loss and emptiness.

And while bashing in a head with a baseball bat is more graphic violence, the thought that a tiny sqeeze on a trigger can tear out the insides of a human seems to me more violent.

I understand the need to protect yourself. It's the most valid of concerns. However don't you think that the proliferation of guns in the US leads to more deaths than if let say all thugs only had a baseball bat? Doesn't that fact that both you and your attacker have guns increase the chance of one of you getting shot. At leat with a baseball bat, one might just incapacitate the other without killing. That is less of an option with a gun . You can control how hard you shoot a person.

I would rather meet an armed burglar unarmed because then i would pose no threat to his life. And if i pose no threat to his life, he can take my stuff and be gone.

Now there is a horrible fear that a burglar might harm your family, and being pakistani i can understand the homocidal anger the thought of harm to them can stir within you.
However, how often to people crazy enough to want to do harm for the sake of harm actually cross your path? That is much less of a risk than it is made out to be. Still even if you were to come across a complete loon like that, is shooting the only option.

I would even think that a remote tazer or something like that should be enough. I mean you don't really want to kill the other person. You just want him to leave you and your family alone right?

If protection of your home is the main issue, then technology offers plenty of non-lethal alternatives to protect your home. What's the point of having a gun other than if you insist of KILLING the person who means you harm?