[mothered]

I believe citizens should have the right to defend themselves, in the event law enforcement doesn't.

I definitely agree with this. In the event someone attacks you with the Intention to kill (firearm or otherwise), the police aren't going to attend there and then.

That said, there can be a fine line with what's considered "self-defense" and "manslaughter". The decision to act on self-defense needs to be warranted and absolutely correct. This Is where a lot of cases get blown way out of proportion- particularly when there's so many sides to the story (from media, lawyers, etc). It's such cases that makes gun ownership all the more difficult.