14 Miles, 99% of us are passive but we carry. We are not cowboys. We take the right to protect ourselves very serious. Most of us who carry will walk away from stupid stuff because we really realize we have death on our hip. They made a wonderful movie about this a long time ago. It was called "Angel and the Badman". I bet John Wayne did not live two weeks.
We, the participants will decide who comes into our house and when. We will decide if an opposing threat is needed or not. A lot of us like me, have been to serious training classes that develop a feel for that need.
We are not looking for trouble, but we will not abide being confronted with any weapon, we will not allow harm to come to our kin folk. And no, we will not turn the other cheek. As someone who knows Jesus,I will say a prayer for them, but if they advance on me I will attempt to send them to hell.
"To respond to a threat with aggression just validates the conflict and aggression." We factor the threat level and react accordingly.
"If there is a problem I will call a specialist like I do for all my other problems". You gotta be kiddin'. The man with the knife stops you and your child on the street and threatens you with a knife. Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters?
Most of us would draw, holding the pistol at low ready (depending on where he is) yelling at him to put the knife down. If he walks, see ya, and call the cops. If he starts to approach, I am in fear for my life and/or my loved ones and I would shoot him. Center mass. Now God can figure it out.
Television ad? They used to have one where the bad guy broke in downstairs, the wife woke the husband and, I think, he got a ball bat (rolleye). The ad shoulda had him holding a street cleaner and pulling the trigger.
What would you do if two men kicked in your door (aggressive threat) late one night? If you had the equipment would you defend yourself, your children, your husband, your dog?
One last thought. I live in an older neighborhood/subdivision. Most all of us have a couple or three acres. At night when I walk the property with the dogs, I have an AR15 with two mags junglerigged slung in front of me on a tsctical sling. Very obvious under the light. Recently we had a goodly number of thefts and breakins in the immediate area. I ammissing nothing.Probably co-incidence.