Why I own a gun: I am not good at being a victim. And I would rather risk my life than live the rest of my life knowing that my wife/other family/similar was hurt when I know that I could have done something to protect them. For better or worse, I live in a society where guns are prevalent and where local law enforcement is in a public union that sometimes slows down their response rate when they have pay and contract disputes (or when they feel like it).
This is not idle chat or a random feeling from watching movies. I am in the military and I am a combat veteran. I know what it means to carry a gun, be shot at, and to contemplate the consequences of pulling the trigger. I currently own a shotgun which is within arms reach while I sleep. It has rounds in the magazine but not in the chamber.
There have been break-ins in my town recently, largely because they know the police are slow to respond. My wife is pregnant and if I thought someone had broke into my home, I would be on a hair trigger. Don't like this? Don't break into my home. I currently live in a state where getting concealed carry license is near impossible, regrettably. We are moving soon to another state and I plan on getting a conceal carry license as soon as possible. I am a Catholic and I strongly oppose needlessly taking another life. But defense of my family from an aggressor is another thing entirely.
A female co-worker of mine was driving the other day at night through the city and someone ran up to her stopped car at a red light and mugged her at gun point. At the nearby university I attend, there have been similar muggings (mostly at knife point) and sexual assaults. Maybe a dozen in the past year. I don't think those criminals could even tell you what the laws for concealed carry or lawful gun possession are in my state.
Would I prefer that the world was different? Yes. Am I eager to point a gun at someone and pull the trigger? No. Am I aware that the odds of me or my immediate family being a victim of crime are significantly high, no matter what precautions I take? Yes. Just the world we live in.
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