Should I buy a handgun?

lol...you worry about people who have guns, the vast and overwhelming majority of whom use them responsibly. the whole reason for having a gun, as clearly stated by our country's founders, is to be able to protect yourself from an intrusive government overstepping its constitutional bounds, to be able to defend yourself, your rights, your family and your community from authority. it is only secondary that ownership of guns has anything to do with protecting yourself from crime and criminals, let alone anything to do with hunting. and the fact is this. in most areas, by a long margin, you will never need a gun for protection from criminals. hey, if you want a gun and are willing to learn to use it well along with getting a good understanding of the laws of your state concerning using a gun in any given situation, go for it. Zimmerman, by the way, is certainly being overrun with all the garbage about his situation, as he used his weapon legally and in the face of being attacked. last, the problem with anything is that there is no 'perfection'. that comes up with guns when you find yourself in a situation where your use of the gun may well be against the rules or in some violation of a law, but on the other hand, not using it may well mean that you will be killed or severly harmed. and that is brought about by being in a situation in which you have only an instant to react, something which cops find themselves dealing with so often. bottom line, that old advice of 'better to be tried by twelve than carried out by six' is solid logic. and listen, there is no possible gun control that will work any good, and in fact our own country shows that the more intense gun control that there is, the more gun violence and crime there is. Chicago, Washington DC, and a number of other such areas are 'home' to a huge majority of such things as murder, crime, and so on while they also have the strictest 'standards' of gun control. in fact, more than two-thirds of all the counties in America have not had a gun-murder in a long time, and these are the counties located in the states in which there are more guns and less control than anyplace else. on top of that, it has been shown repeatedly that states and communities with very unrestrictive gun laws are continually the places in which people are safer, experience far less crime, etc. I hope you do a little research and some real thinking.

"And if I do, how can I be sure that I will only use it when it is completely legal and right to do so?"

Judging from this I will say: Don't buy a gun.

If you do buy a gun, take lots of firing classes, join a pistol club or whatever. Get as much training as possible.

Never ever pull the gun out, if you are not ready to pull the trigger, if you hesitate for only a second, it can be enough for someone to disarm you and use the gun against you.

This is how fast an disarm can be done, watch the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWP3vZcKUvo

You really just have to consider the pro's vs the cons of having a gun yourself.

Would it really make you feel safer?

Are you willing to take the chance that you may end up killing innocent people?

Would you be able to not use your gun if you went into a rage?

Yes get a gun. A car is an incredibly dangerous thing when treated poorly, or used improperly, because of this we teach everyone how to use it. The same idea applies to a gun, if you have never used one, you need to learn how to properly use it and maintain it. if you do not know how to locate a class in your area the NRA can provide you information on that. If you don't like that idea, your local gun store will have information on where you can get firearms training.

You would need to take a class or two and make that choice... although your comment "how can I be sure that I will only use it when it is completely legal and right to do so" is a little scary...

Should be pretty freggin clear if you ever had to use it.

You no buy handgun. Ever.

Should I Buy A Gun

You can...and take a class.

No no guns