I believe that the likelihood of ever having to "need" to use a weapon for home protection is extremely slim in most areas of the country (for some of us that might not be the case though). However, when put in the position where I need to protect myself, I would like to be prepared and ready to protect my home and family. I have lived in areas where I did have that "need", but that was a long time ago.
There was a woman in Oklahoma a couple of months ago whose husband died and two idiots decided to use that as an opportunity to attempt to rape her and maybe worse. She locked herself in a bedroom and called 911 - she asked the 911 dispatcher if she could shoot these individuals and was told she should do what she had to do to protect herself and her baby. After 20 minutes the police still were not there and the men were breaking into the bedroom and she shot one dead and the other guy fled (and was caught later by the police). She was prepared and did what she needed to do to protect herself.
We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free -- Ronald Reagan