Quote from Lucrum:
If your new to firearms seriously consider getting some instruction. Shooting yourself or someone else unintended kinda defeats the whole purpose.
If you're dead set on a handgun and you don't plan on using it with any regularity consider a revolver. They are somewhat less likely to jam and there is no magazine spring to weaken over time. Not to mention a gun novice trying to unjam a semi auto in "the heat of the moment" could again defeat the whole purpose.
You may also want to consider a short shotgun. While not as easy to wield indoors as a handgun you're less like to shoot yourself with it, the shot has less penetration than bullets reducing the risk of collateral damage and the sound of chambering a round alone may very well prevent you from having to spill some assholes blood and guts all over your expensive floor.
Good advice.
The basic rule for a novice is to get something you can operate when you are so scared you are literally shaking. Probably rules out the Kimber, as it is a 1911-style pistol which requires you either to manipulate a thumb safety or chamber a round, either of which you might forget or screw up.
There are many revolvers on the market, ranging from something cheap like the Charter Arms Bulldog to the top of the line Smith & wessons. Ideally you want .357 mag or bigger, but make sure your wife can handle it. The go-to semi-auto for novices and pros alike for years has been the Glock. It doesn't have a safety. The trigger has a secondary trigger that has to be activated to fire, so the chances of a Plaxico Burress incident are minimized. They have a wide variety of calibers and sizes. I'd recommend the Glock 21 for home defense.
http://www.glock.com/english/glock21.htm
Home defense is not just buying a gun and keeping it in the bedside table. Ideally, you have security doors that cannot be easily kicked in, windows that cannot be just broken and opened and no sliding glass doors, the achilles heel of florida houses. To be prepared, you need several guns placed strategically around the house, eg one in the kitchen, one in the TV room and one in the BR. If someone comes through the door, you will have little to no warning, so having a gun within reach could be essential. Of course, if you have children, this becomes a big problem.
Most weapons trainers will tell you that a handgun is to be used only until you can properly arm yourself, ie with a rifle or shotgun. Without getting too technical, there are some concerns about the stopping power of the 5.56 round used in the M4 and other AR platforms. It won't even penetrate drywall, which is a good thing if you are worried about shooting someone in the next room by accident, but not a good thing if your intruder has body armor on. The best round, 7.62 NATO, is overkill in a residential neighborhood, so the alternative is a shotgun, firing either slugs or 00 buck. The good thing about them is they are cheap, easy to operate and devastatingly effective. You want either a short double barrel, like the Stoger double defense,
http://www.stoegerindustries.com/firearms/stoeger_double_defense.php , a pump gun like the Remington 870 tactical,
http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model-870/model-870-express-tactical.aspx , or an auto loader like the benelli M2 tactical,
http://www.benelliusa.com/shotguns/benelli_m2_tactical.php .
Not everyone is prepared to shoot to kill. If you or your wife aren't, you're probably better off with good locks and a safe room. Displaying a gun and being slow to use it is a good way to get yourself killed. Also, make very sure you understand your jurisdiction's rules on when you are legally justified to use deadly force. Hint: you probably are not allowed to use it against someone stealing your car or against a fleeing home intruder.
