I live in a country where firearms are far more tightly regulated than the US, though not as much as some European countries. Crime in my city is very low, even by Canadian standards, if you excluded the drug motivated gang on gang shootings.
Although current policies of the Candian government do not allow citizens to carry concealed handguns, I would still want the ability to do so at times, and do want the option of a firearm for home defence. This is for the same reason I have a fire-extinguisher & first aid kit in my car, have taken CPR & first aid courses, buy insurance, use a seatbelt in a car with airbags, have an alarm system, have smoke and CO detectors, and lock the doors at night. Do I think the risk of house fire, car accident, or buglary is high? No, I know these are highly unlikely events, that I can keep even lower by the right behavior & precautions. But I define risk, in a “pseudo-mathematical” way as
RISK = Probability of bad event X Severity of Harm from bad event.
So even a very unlikely event with a very bad outcome can be deemed a significant risk, warranting percautions.
Despite being on the bigger end of the male form spectrum, I am not athletic, I have very low unarmed self defence skills, and any violent crime I may encounter will likely be at the hands of someone with a lot more “fighting”* experience than me. Firearms make hand/knife fighting skills and size less relevant. This would be even more of an issue if I were small, female, and worried about the whole rape thing. It would also be my hope that self defence using a firearm would result in less harm to me and the attacker, since there is a good chance that I would not have to fire to stop the crime.
I also fully realise that the presence of a firearm in a home is itself a risk factor, which is why I also believe in taking the necessary storage precautions
I guess it’s just in my nature to want to be prepared to face most emergencies. It just gives me better peace of mind. A firearm for me is still primarily recreational item, but one that would be more effective than a 9-iron or a Louisville Slugger for deterring / repelling a home intrusion or mugging. I will readily acknowledge that it carries far more responsibility than either of those alternatives, hovever.
** It is a paradox of firearm use in self-defence that most CCW permit holders in the States have more practice and greater skills with their firearms than most criminals, who do not practice regularly and have very little experience in the far more difficult than it seems skill of accurate shooting with a handgun*.