Locked guns are also not as readily accessible for defensive gun uses. Since criminals are deterred by potentially armed victims, gun locks may therefore increase crime. Exacerbating this problem are serious reliability issues. Fingers that are slightly dirty or not placed exactly on the finger print reading device may prevent the gun from firing. There is also the concern that smart locks relying on radio signals can be jammed by criminals.
Guns clearly deter criminals.
Americans use guns defensively over 2 million times each year - five times more frequently than the 430,000 times guns were used to commit crimes in 1997. Ninety-eight percent of the time, simply brandishing the weapon is sufficient to stop an attack. Even though the police are extremely important in reducing crime, they simply can't be there all the time and virtually always end up at the crime scene after the crime has been committed. Having a gun is by far the safest course of action when one is confronted by a criminal. Even if one has young children, it does not make sense to lock up a gun if one lives in a high-crime urban area.