I agree, blaming strict firearm ownership laws is not the answer. If both had guns you might have even more dead. OP - focus on situational awareness of the mother. If I were in her position, and location, i would grab the kids, call the cops, and go out the back door to a neighbors and wait for the cops to show up. If it were in a different location with home defense laws, bet your ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD i'd get the kids out the back and tell them to go to the neighbors or basement... go get my remington 870-12, open a window slightly, get in cover, load the sucker up and chamber a round. no retard would think about trying to bust into a house knowingly against a loaded shotgun pointed at them. I've had one attempted break in at my parents house which ended fairly quickly after my dad called the cops and loaded a mag into his stoner AR-10. the guys disappeared fairly quickly with a cellphone and a cd player.