Sneakylong Do you think it's a sense of "control" over our own lives? For example, while I'm statistically more likely to die in a car than a plane, I still feel safer in a car. I feel like if something bad happens, I will have a chance to prevent or reduce the loss of life. I can try to mitigate the accident.
Likewise, I feel like with a pistol at home I have a chance in the event of a violent home invasion. I feel that the guys invading my home don't care about gun laws (since they're happy to break the law regarding unlawful entry.)
I believe that non-career-criminals would kill less if guns were less available. Crimes of passion, for example, could be diminished. But the guys who go out planning to commit violent crimes? I feel like they're going to be armed regardless. If I'm armed too it's still going to be bad, but I've got a chance, right?