I’m relying on common sense on the part of the burglars... My wifes parents live with us and rarely go out ... the house is OBVIOUSLY occupied 24/7/365 , I have a alarm sign from a local top notch security firm ,, motion sensing lighting and I have 2 large dogs ,,, they’re no good for attack unless you are scared of slobber but they are alert and give notice... I have 2 very small children so my wife won’t hear of me having a gun within any reach that could make it useful...
The brainiacs you wrote about are the most dangerous kind ,,, a smart crook would dumpster dive at a car dealer for credit apps and just order up some credit cards or do something else that doesn’t make him “most wanted” and force him into a kill situation..
You need to check out the statistics on the rise of home-invasion robberies as well as burglary of an occupied habitation.
The burglars don’t care if you’re home or not, and they’ve learned that dead witnesses do not testify. See the recent horrifying case in CT.
Your wife needs some education. I grew up in the country. Loaded guns behind every door. Parents started safety training at age four (touch it only when I'm around), with actual shooting at that age (kids hand on gun, kids hand in your hand). That experience, even with a .22 revolver QUICKLY teaches the kid the difference between a toy gun and the real deal. My brother and I would NEVER have touched one of those guns---EVER---until we were of an age and training level to be allowed to do so.
Sounds like my lab, well, if you have any food nearby.
But the bad guys can't really know that. A friend of my wife's has a pair of Dobie sisters. Wimps, sorta shy, but they have a scary bark, and will use it. That along with their appearance, mean, keeps her pretty safe. But she still has a gun.
She also has the same two story problem. One stairway whose downstairs end is just a few steps from the front door. She has split bedrooms too, some upstairs, master down, but her sewing room, upstairs.