Lisa Belkin Talks Gun Safety On HLN's 'Raising America'

HuffPost Senior Columnist Lisa Belkin appeared on HLN’s new parenting-focused show, "Raising America With Kyra Phillips," on Tuesday to discuss guns in the home and safety.

Belkin said that while she was not going to argue against people owning a gun to protect themselves, there were two important conversations in play.

“It’s one thing to say, ‘I want to own something that I know how to use that is designed solely to protect me, that can't take out a classroom or a platoon.’ Then there’s the argument of, OK, if you are going to own that one simple thing, are you absolutely guaranteeing that it will keep you safe, rather than put you in more danger? That’s a personal decision.”

Belkin went on to note that statistics show “more people are hurt by guns in their own home than are saved by guns in their own home … I will not own one.”

Syndicated talk show host Bert Weiss, who also appeared on the segment, said he spent 15 years trying to convince his wife they needed a gun to protect themselves -- and finally succeeded following last month's story about a Georgia mother who shot an intruder. "I'm going to be tougher if I have a gun in the house," he said.

Phillips takes the opposite approach. She said she was a longtime gun owner but recently decided to sell her gun out of concerns for her children's safety.

Watch the full clip above to hear more of the discussion.