They are a must have. I live in new jersey and we have a black bear problem here so outside of a gang or criminal other situations they come in handy.
Gentlemen never underestimate the power of a good 12 gauge pump and buckshot for crowd control. The mere sound of chambering a round will send most scurrying for cover.
The state I live in they have outlawed assault type rifles unless grandfathered in before law took hold. Still can get Springfiled M1A's, thats about it!
My weapon of choice when I served the U.S. Army....... http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/images/ah-1-dvic289.jpg HOOOOUUUUAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!
I am far from a 'gun nut,' and treat my firearms with the greatest of respect. They are deadly tools to be handled carefully, treated with utmost respect, and used extremely reluctantly (hopefully never). But yes, there is a priceless freedom to be able to protect yourself, loved ones and property when the rule of law breaks down. I still remember the South Central riots, as I was living in Cali at the time. It was only the armed civilians that were able to protect their lives and livelihoods during that time. The police were not even responding to 9-1-1 calls. Period.
Oh yes, anyone who wants to defend himself is some incest-loving hick. How original. If someone comes for your throat, maybe you can change their mind by shouting "Yes, we can!" or "Hope!" or encouraging them to take their weapons to the next "Turn Guns in for Money" day.
Machetes, pepper spray, martial arts, those are fine too. Think about it, you pepper spray a thug, kick his ribs in, rip his face/ package/ forearm half off and go on about your business, he will go to a hospital eventually and you can anonymously tip the police to have the hospitals alert them. A car is a great weapon at times, I have a thousand rounds of M2 ammo but so far I have not gotten the rifle that goes with it, but between now and the next riot I really want to do that...... my area collected zillions of thugs from LA, the cops down there told them to move to where the rents were cheap and the vacancies were high and they did... what a frigging mess, you want to know what the black and hispanic community is all about... turn on the police scanner, unbelievable shit going on, mostly in the daytime hours because the little bastards are truants... I watched a gang banger from LA die in front of my house after he did a home invasion across the street, he was stabbed in the neck and dying and twitching and saying "damn nigga, damn nigga" over and over until he finished bleeding out... they really picked the wrong house that day, one died and one is going away for a very long time.... A kid got killed, he was in a gang, and his father was in a gang, so the police arrested the perp and a couple of his pals and put them in the same prison as the father, they said it would save a trial.. I have contacts on the law side and the thug side, the thugs really have no clue what they are up against, really clueless bunch overall..... there are many, many citizens doing observe and report duty all the time and there are always folks around that are willing to acomodate a death wish or three....... We need to put some bleeding heart morons in the hood here and let them observe that section 8 and welfare is a crime subsidy in 90% of the cases...