Heaven forfend, Matt Yglesias wants a gun to defend himself against burglars. (Matt also enjoys target practice, which seems like a perfectly good reason to buy a gun, but not a very good reason to keep said gun in the home.)

I don’t mean to minimize Matt’s concern about burglary. B&Es are a big problem in his neighborhood. His friend and neighbor Julian Sanchez had a nasty run-in with a burglar just a few weeks ago.

I’ve never understood why anyone would keep a gun in their home to protect themselves from burglars. If you had a violent stalker ex, or someone who was was bent on invading your home in order to hurt you, I could see the rationale for being armed. But buying a gun to protect against burglars is no protection at all. It’s not like you’re going to stand guard every night to deter them.

Turning on the lights to find the gun is enough scare off the average burglar. I know at least a half-dozen people who have scared off burglars (deliberately or involuntarily) just by alerting the would-be thief to their presence. The burglar isn’t there to fight you hand-to-hand for your iPod. Confrontations with the homeowner go against the whole burglary business model.

Interrupting a burglary with a gun probably unnecessary and likely counterproductive because you have no idea how the burglar’s going to react. Desperate criminals are human, too. I’m not pointing this out as a plea for compassion. I’m just noting that strung-out junkies at gunpoint are at least as likely to do something stupid as your average person. Maybe they’re armed, too. Maybe they’ll panic and try to get the gun away from you. Maybe they’ll succeed. Or, maybe you’ll panic and shoot them.

It might make sense be armed if you were someone who couldn’t call the cops (e.g., a drug dealer), or if you kept your entire lifesavings in uninsured jewels in a candy dish on the kitchen table. But does anyone really want to risk physical violence to protect their consumer electronics? That’s what insurance is for.

You can get really good renter’s insurance for a lot less than you’d spend on a handgun, a gun safe, ammo, and a gun club membership (for all the target practice you’ll need to be effective in an emergency).

Keeping a gun at home to protect against robbers seems like an especially silly idea in a big city where the police can arrive at the scene in less time than it takes to open your gun safe, load your gun, and confront the burglar.

If you’re already getting burglarized, do you really want to add to your problems by confronting a desperate criminal with your own loaded weapon? That’s as dumb as trying to fight a mugger for your wallet.