Let's face it, many people are offended that we teach kids to be responsible with guns and would love it if all firearms were outlawed in the US. But like the old saying goes, "the day they outlaw guns, only outlaws will own them" is completely true.
Yesterday in Phoenix a 14 year old boy was babysitting his three younger siblings when a woman rang the doorbell. The 14 year old refused to open the door because he did not know her. A few minutes later they heard a banging on the front door and the boy saw an armed man trying to kick the door in. The boy rushed the three younger kids upstairs, went to his parents room and got out his dads pistol. As the intruder burst through the front door, he saw the boy and pointed his gun at him. The kid got off a few rounds and hit the intruder, who is now in critical condition in the hospital but expected to survive.
Obviously these people knew the kids were home alone and we'll probably never know what their true intentions were unless they find the woman and she admits their plans. Had the boy not reacted the way he did we would be reading about a few dead or kidnapped kids instead of a wounded intruder. This kid is a hero.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-06-23/phoenix-teen-shoots-intruder/55782484/1