Yes you can lock up your guns and still protect yourself in a timely manor
There are plenty of things in the industry that are debatable, you can argue about 9mm vs 45acp, you talk about direct impingement guns being unreliable and that are piston driven guns are better. Well, one thing that is not a debate is protecting kids from firearms. That previous statement might stir up some people but not every child has the competency and maturity to handle anger. Some kids are mature enough to access firearms at young ages and there have been plenty of times that young people have used firearms to defend their homes. A few months ago a 12yr old girls used a shotgun to stop a burglary and there have actually been defensive shootings where minors have used guns in their own homes.
I realize that some people may have serious security issues and may want a gun as close to them as possible but I personally have seen sleep walking incidences that make me glad some people don’t keep guns by the nightstand. My primary gun safes are the gunvault safes and even though there have been several generations of them, they are reasonable priced and easy to store. I have my Remington safes that practically need a crane to get them in the house but the Magvault gun safes don’t take up much room and are easy to put full size guns like the Glock 21 in them or a Sig 238.