The purpose of self-defense is to stop an attacker. Period. Using the most decisive and effective means to accomplish that goal is the result of simple logic, not "love" of the weapon. That is simply absurd.
I'm 5'6" and weigh 160 pounds. I'm 52 years old, have bad knees and can't run very fast or very far.
A thug is likely to be larger, heavier, stronger and faster than me. He also may be armed. I want to be able to stop him. As the doomed trooper in Aliens famously said "What do you want me to use, harsh language?"
The reason I have a gun is not because I love guns, any more than I "love" the hammer in my toolbox. This is yet another misconception. The popular image of a person who chooses to arm himself is that he's a stupid, fear-mongering, paranoid, stereotypical gun nut. Hey, you're Australian… I bet you're JUST like the stereotype, aren't you?
I choose to protect myself with a gun because it is the single most effective tool for the job, especially considering that the other guy may be armed.
Do you have a lock on your door? Why? Does your town have a police force? Why? Does your country have a military? Why? The reason is that there are in fact bad people in the world and you need to be protected. Crime is real. Violence is real.
So the obvious question is, "If you've got police, why do you need to arm yourself?" Fair question.
The answer is simple, and it's a popular saying amongst gun owners here in the US: "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away."
Here's what can happen. This is not a fantasy. This is real. This crime took place about 20 miles from where I live, four years ago. It started when two thugs beat the napping husband with a baseball bat. It rapidly got horribly worse. Had the family been armed, chances are it would have been a simple assault instead of the tragedy it turned into.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...re-killer.html