MikeM:
As a Taurus owner of a rock solid reliable Millenium, and a
friend of others on the forum who have had PT140's and
PT145's that are similarly reliable - I'd go for the PT145
over the Glock. If it was just down to those 2 choices.
The PT145 is a 10 + 1 capacity. IIRC, the Glock 36 is less.
Yes, Glocks are reliable per the above comments.
Yes, you can carry a Glock safely as long as your trigger
finger is on the trigger ONLY at the time you need to shoot.
To me, the drawback to a Glock is the grip angle.
IMHO, it just doesn't feel right.
A Springfield XD is striker-fired and is considered by some
to be in a "cocked and locked" condition, ready to fire.
The advantage to an XD over a Glock is that it has a 1911-style grip
safety on the backstrap, plus it ergonomically feels much
better than a Glock, IMHO.
Try a bunch of the above-mentioned guns. Certain models
have multiple back straps available for small/med/large hands,
and that can also help you to choose a gun that's right for you.
Good luck in your search. The gun will be the easy part, it's
choosing your carry rig (holster, etc) that will be hard!
SIA