In regards to the gun topic, my thoughts are this:
I have been a gun owner for many years, both shotguns and handguns. Connecticut offers concealed carry permits. CCP's in most instances will not be your saving grace. Chances are, if that time ever comes there is already going to be a gun in your face. You turn around from an ATM, you're walking around a corner, you're coming out of a store, etc., the gun is already on you
pointing at you. You are not going to out-draw that person and in that situation just best to give up the wallet, watch, ring, whatever. Again, you will not out-draw that individual, they already have you beat. There is hope though with some types of holsters. They make a small back pocket holster that looks like a wallet (DeSantis Trickster), nice for the small NAA pistols like the Guardian or something like the Beretta Bobcat or Tomcat. You could be acting like digging out your wallet and come out blasting, but that is assuming you are carrying with one in the pipe. Most don't feel comfortable carrying one in the pipe, still a very dicey situation and risky; they still have they upper-hand with the gun already on you. Knowing that, you're not going to out-draw someone, a CCP is really only useful for the defensive situation. You see trouble ahead, you take a defensive position and wait to see what happens, but you are ready to fire. Even in your home, the best thing to do even with a gun and you know someone is breaking in, get your firearm, secure the family, and take up the defensive position. Call the police immediately and tell them there is an intruder. Stay low and be ready to come up blasting when the intruder ventures your way, but casing your own home is best for the police. Don't get yourself shot with the family still upstairs. Be defensive, yet don't go looking for trouble. Know your target and backdrop. There are special bullets called Glaziers I think that are very effective up close like a shotgun blast, but won't penetrate your walls.
Last think you want is to miss and have that bullet travel into another room or toward your neighbors house.
A person with a CCP against an assailant with a knife is a different story. Chances are you casually open up your jacket an expose the butt of the gun from the inside-the-pant holster, your knife guy is going to back down and take a quick walk away. Picking up the tab on a murder, even justified, can be a tough thing to live with, and you may think about it every day for the rest of your life, especially knowing it didn't necessarily have to be that way.
Many people have problems, especially with drug use. Somebody is in your home looking to steal the silverware, rooting through the drawers for something to pawn off to get a quick fix. Do they deserve to die? You need analyze the situation quickly and make a determination. Do they have a gun, are they out to harm you and your family, is it a teenager or young adult
who really needs some help as opposed to a bullet in the head? Tough call and many would just assume shoot. Offering somebody a second chance at life even though you could have legally wasted them away in a split second may not be all that bad of an option; especially for a young person just starting out in life who has temporarily found his life in some rocky soil. Any doubts, don't take a chance being Mr. nice guy, pull the trigger.