Why would one need to carry a firearm? Because we can.
I usually carry when I am at the farm. Last night, after feeding the cows, I shot a copperhead snake. Hate those things and I have seen pictures of cattle that have stepped on them and been bitten by one.
I have a shooting range in my back yard. I sit on my back deck and can shoot until I am out of ammo and no one says anything.
The crime rate is not as bad as you would expect. In another post there is a link to an article that states 15 million background checks were conducted for gun owners last year. You hear about a killing on the news, maybe once a week, that was committed by someone using a gun. You hear on the news almost every night someone dying because of a car accident or knife fight.
Our crime rate is not horrendous by any means and some people believe it has actually fallen
BECAUSE of our gun laws.