It’s hell of a lot easier to commit a mass murder with an assault rifle over a pistol. People carrying assault rifles aren’t doing so for “self defense”. They do so for intimidation or to have the ability to kill a bunch of people at once. Sure, you can do it with a handgun, but it’s not anywhere remotely as quick and simple.

I am not pro gun, but it’s a hell of a lot more understandable for me to see a person carrying a handgun or having a shotgun at home for home defense as opposed to a weapon of mass murder.

As a physically small human who lives alone, I do sometimes get concerned for my safety travelling in certain areas. Or if I lived in a rough area, it honestly might be wise for me to keep one at home in the event of a break in. But I’m still never going to be the type to own one. I just find it a lot more reasonable in certain circumstances.

tl;dr - an assault rifle is literally made for killing large quantities of people at once; I’d hardly call that self defense outside of a war scenario