There are a lot of reasons, but I think an often overlooked one is that we have 24 hour news channels that do everything they can to strike fear in the hearts of viewers because it’s the best way to keep them tuned in, leading to a culture overwhelmed with fear and anxiety, many of whom take solace in the warm embrace of a hand cannon
Texas
Because I know how to use them and it’s fun
America is very large sparsely populated between coasts. This is what a lot of Europeans and coastal persons in the US don’t understand. “We just call police they’ll be there in minutes”.
Where I live you call police they may be there in 30min to 1 hour. If someone wants to do harm everyone and the dog is dead and the perp can cook an omelette.
Without giving a whole second amendment the right to bear arms / defense against a tyrannical government speech, in short… because guns are awesome. Us Americans like awesome things. I mean, nobody needs a Corvette or a Lamborghini, but they have one because they’re awesome. Awesomeness is a good enough excuse. I know a lot of people will hate me for engaging in plain speaking. But there you have it!