They have each invested thousands of dollars on expensive firearms, ammunition, range time, classes, targets, gun safes/lockers, holsters, belts, clothing compatible with concealment.

No, actually a lot of 'em skip a lot of those steps. They have the expensive firearms, and ammunition, but rarely practice at the range, mostly don't take any classes, targets? meh - why waste money on targets when we've got old cans?, gun safes are for sissies with kids, etc.

After hurricane Andrew in Miami, there was a long period where services like 911 just didn't exist. I thought briefly about getting a Glock 9mm and a pump action 12 gauge, but when it came to the reality of ownership I could foretell that I wouldn't spend as much time at the range as I believe I should if I were to keep such things in my home, so I opted to not buy them. 32+ years later, there have been a couple of incidents over the years where I might have pulled my weapon if I had it, none of them could have had a better outcome if I had my weapon at the time. Flipside: my stepfather concealed carried for 40 years - as was his Constitutional right. He planned scenarios, shared them, was prepared should he ever need to use one of his many weapons - his collection was probably worth $50K by the time he died. He was also an alcoholic, and eventually addicted to opioid pain killers, never gave up his guns. Luckily the only thing he ever shot besides ducks while hunting was a bookshelf by accident while cleaning his guns. All those years, all that planning on when and how to take another human life should the need ever arise, all those years and years of drug clouded judgement... I do NOT feel safer knowing that there are literally thousands of old men, and women, at various stages of dementia and infirmity out there in our county just like him.