I am an European citizen and live in a country where I'm glad that access to guns is far more restricted and regulated than in America. It's my personal opinion and I don't agree with American culture to allow relatively easy access to guns for virtually everyone. I don't blame you for this.It just feels scary for me.
It feels scary to you simply due the fact, my assumption here, that you have never been around guns or ever used them. Like many people my wife had never been around guns, and once she used one and became trained on how to properly protect herself using one she lost that fear. A gun is a tool, plain and simple.
A gun is a great equalizer. In Louisville, Kentucky there have been roaming mobs of 200 + intercity teens running wild, and hurting all kinds of people. The only chance you would have in a situation like this would be a gun. Your only hope of keeping them away would be their fear of your gun. Several people recently have been injured by these mobs, and I for one will not be victim to this type of act. You cannot always rely on someone else to keep you safe, ie police, because they cannot be everywhere at once.