I grew up around firearms and have been in one form of or another through my working life have had to carry a firearm as part of my job. I have also have been traveling more (road trips) in the last 4 years since meeting my girlfriend and we have come across some situations while on the road that I would have felt more comfortable knowing I had self defense options.

So in general I feel comfortable and have working knowledge of firearms there for why not use that for protection of my family and myself.