I beg to differ. It isn't the gun that confers such power, it is the will that confers the power of life and death.
I agree with that point, but...
At this one job I worked at, there was this real @$$#0LE I had to deal with. He would get violent with people, and on one occasion, he took it upon himself to threaten me.
Having just gotten out of the Army, I wasn't the type to just cower like a little sissy. I also knew that he had at least fifty pounds on me.
I made the only choice I could to avoid having to kill him to win; I picked up a 20 oz claw hammer and told him to have at it.
He didn't.
True, I could have put a real hurting on him with that hammer, or possibly even with just my hands, feet and teeth.
But it would have been much easier to do so with a rifle.
BTW- If there are any antis out there thinking about how awful it is to make it known that you are willing to kick butt to keep yourself safe, think about this.
I didn't actually have to use that hammer on him, I just had to convince him that I would.