I understand what you are saying and how you feel you need to protect the kids. By the way, I have 2 kids.A criminal that breaks in is not looking to be shot to death.
They very well might be looking to kill you. They've already committed one crime by breaking in. Surely you're not stupid enough to bet your life they won't commit another crime by killing you.
Right... well, there is a big difference between a thief and a murderer.... Someone that breaks in has no intention of killing.
That is so ridiculously wrong I don't even know where to begin to address it. Maybe we're talking about two different things: Sometimes a burglar who gets caught in the act because he thought no one was home will run. Sometimes he won't. But home invasions, where the criminal (usually more than one) breaks into the home knowing the occupants are inside, intend violence. If they didn't, they'd wait until they thought the place was empty.
And I'm telling you this from first hand experience. I wasn't always on the right side of the law myself.
If they break in, prepared to kill you, no matter how many guns you own, you will be too late. So why would you have the guns then anyway?
Because not everyone that breaks in will know that YOU'RE prepared.
That will then also mean that they themself do not bear a gun. So.... why shoot them?
To protect yourself and your children. It's not just about protecting your home and the material items you possess. Just because you shoot someone doesn't mean you shoot to kill. It depends on the situation. If you feel your life or your children's lives are in danger then you have the right to shoot to kill because you don't play guessing games when it comes to your life or your child's life at stake. It's not "let me see what this mother fucker is gonna do before I take his ass out".....hesitation could get your ass killed and its not a risk I'm willing to take because I have children to protect. If its night time and I can't see you well enough to know if you're armed or not, I'm not guessing before I pull the trigger. If it's day time and I can see that you are unarmed, I will pull my weapon and hold you there until the police arrive. If you have a gun, your ass is done. At the end of the day it's gonna be me being with my babies or them being motherless and going to a foster home. I'll be damned!!!! Also, you can't play guessing games and play with your children's lives. You don't know if the person breaking in is some rapist pedophile that wants your kids as victims before he strangles them to death.....fucking really??? You must not have children. At the end of the day I will sleep well at night knowing my children are SAFE with a SINGLE MOM that knows how to defend herself and her children from intruders. It all depends on the situation and how well you can assess the situation at night time or during the day. There are a lot of factors that play a role on whether or not you shoot someone to kill, shoot to disarm or hold them there until the cops come.
But... protecting here (the Netherlands) is apprently very different from protecting there in the US. We do not have any guns in the house, but the risk of an armed intruder is next to zero. I don't understand why that risk in your place would be so large?