See you're already assuming war is coming and that it is a fact of life, inevitable just as winter is. With that mindset there is no other alternatives from the get go
If you walk around with a gun in your pocket drooling about self defence scenarios you might end up escalating a situation that could have been avoided altogether.
And you're assuming war is not coming? That there will never be another war? Don't get me wrong, I'm anti-war, but that sounds like an unwise assumption to make given history.
> If you walk around with a gun in your pocket drooling about self defence scenarios you might end up escalating a situation that could have been avoided altogether.
True, but this is another big assumption about the character of the person carrying the gun. The statistics on people with a permit to carry and the usage of their weapons tell a different story than you present. That is, they are much more likely to deescalate, most defensive gun usages require no shots fired, and license to carry owners are much less likely than the general population to commit or be convicted of a crime.
If you walk around with a gun in your pocket drooling about self defence scenarios you might end up escalating a situation that could have been avoided altogether.