I approve of the use of guns appropriate to the level of control you have of the area, at home I know who has the right to be there and who shouldn't, I know the lay out of the land and where and how I can use a firearm to cause the least collateral damage (neighbours etc.).
I seriously doubt I can say the same thing about wandering the streets armed which is why I do not believe arming the population in public is a good idea and why I do believe this area is best left to those trained for the job aka the police.
As far as my personal feelings on guns well they are just another implement in my collection, if I want to chop down a tree I will use an axe or saw, if I want to build something I will use a hammer and if I want to shoot something I will use a gun, I collect firearms and have all of the appropriate licenses to do so but unlike some on the board I am not evangelistic about them.
In terms of protection I seriously doubt the value of the firearm, certainly in the right circumstances they are very effective but in the wrong circumstances they make matters a hell of a lot worse and as I have said before if you live in a society where you need to be able to kill to feel safe then you need to seriously look at the quality of that society.