To answer our Canadian friend:

There are two basic reasons that I carry a gun. One is short and sweet, the other much more involved and long. Through experience, I have learned that people are not interested in the second answer, so I won't bother with it.

First answer: Because I can. (It is my right, and I chose to exercise it.) This right is a direct extension of every person's inalienable right to life. One cannot have a right to life without the right to defend it.

To answer a few of your other questions:
Have I ever used my concealed carry weapon in an altercation? No, and I pray that I never have to. But that does not mean I am not willing to do so in defense of my own, or someone else's life.

Have I ever pointed a loaded weapon at someone? Yes. I was in the Army, and this encouraged, especially when the enemy is about.

Does my concealed firearm make me feel safer? Yes. (Why wouldn't it?) Is that why I carry it? No. I do not live in fear, nor am I a trigger happy nut job vigilante waiting to pull it out and shoot up some bad guys. The simple fact is the world is a dangerous place, and I am not going to allow some criminal or nut job to threaten my life or someone else's.

Would the world be a safer place if all responsible adults carried firearms? Yes, it would.

Would the world be a more dangerous place if no one but law enforcement and the government were allowed to have firearms? Absolutely. If you criminalize gun ownership, then only criminals will have guns. Look at the statistics from Australia. Since they outlawed private gun ownership their violent crime has skyrocketed. Why? Because criminals still have guns, but now the la abiding citizens can't defend themselves, and the criminals know it.