Well, the answer to minimizing crimes and preventing people from needing a gun to feel safe isn't going to be to take guns away from law abiding citizens. No matter what laws are put in place, even banning the manufacturing of any and all firearms, would not keep criminals from devising ways to prey on others. A gun is a great equalizing factor for victims. A petite woman can chase off a 300# bad-intentioned man with a gun where she might not be able to do it with physical force. The focus should be on preventing people from wanting to commit crimes in the first place and also to deal with criminals so that they do not/cannot commit crimes again in the future.
Gun ban proponents always seem to forget that guns don't commit crimes, good people with guns don't commit crimes, bad people with or without guns commit crimes.