I was fresh out of college and anti gun coming out of college when I returned to Los Angeles, in time for the Rodney King beating, and riots a year later.
After the riots, I went to the famous B&B Guns in North Hollywood (where the LAPD officers went during the North Hollywood Shootout for weapons) and at first bought a Glock .40. Subsequently, I bought a Mossberg 590 shotgun, and some other handguns.
During the Northridge Earthquake, boarding up our family business, two carloads of low riders pulled up looking for no good. It was pre dawn, there was no police presence other units running Code 3 in random directions. My father called to me and I came out of the front of the building with my Mossberg 590 (and a SigSauer on my hip). I racked a shell, and the homies eyes got wide and they bugged out, bottoming out on the street as they sped away.
Within one hour of the Earthquake, upscale areas like Sherman Oaks were being pilfered by white people...my dad couldnt believe it...people taking office furniture from a furniture store, we saw people looting a donut shop, and cars upside down in the intersection (because there is no power, and no traffic signals during widespread outages -- people were flying home not realizing the signals were out, hitting other people at freeway speeds)
I often wonder if I would have shot someone if they produced a weapon from one of those cars....and also wonder what I would have done if I had never armed myself.