This is funny-- I find myself the proponent of an obstacle.
Unusual for me.
I carry a 1911 cocked and locked. While at home I keep one in Condition One on a high shelf. But at bedside... I want an obstacle to my dreamlike conditions.
Think to yourself. Be HONEST, here-- haven't you had your significant other or a friend refer to a conversation that they had with you after you had answered the bedside phone, but which you had ZERO recollection of? I've had half-hour conversations (proved by information that I gave out or I wouldn't believe it) that I have no memory of.
My wife's family has a strain of somnambulance running through it. My wife's father used to walk around the house, dead asleep. My wife doesn't seem to do it (though she sleeps with her eyes open), but my eldest daughter has a few times. Scares me, actually. I have no idea if I could ever do that. I sure hope not. But here's the deal-- my bedside gun requires a little finagling to actuate. I have a
DAC SportSafe with a pushbutton code bolted to my bedside table. Yes, it does actually add about 2 full seconds to getting my gun (virtually silently), but I don't find myself terrified of my actions in my sleep.
My mother, before her arthritis made it unfeasible to rack it, used to keep a Colt Government Model as her house gun. When I was still a teenager, I noticed and was surprised that she kept it in Condition Three. (She had been trained properly, and knew that Condition One was an inherently safe way to carry. I asked her why. She expressed just my above concern, and said that she would rather have to rack a round than worry about taking lethal action before waking fully. I didn't understand then. As a daddy of two and a husband, I understand now.