Paranoia?

In a recent discussion, I was told that, since I own a firearm, I must be paranoid.
It's not the spare tire, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, emergency blanket, first aid kit, spare raincoat, and bottled water that I keep in my car's trunk that made this person  think I am "paranoid", but the presence of a gun in a safe in my home.
"Gun owners," they continued, :are paranoid about the government".

Really?   Let's compare...


I am required by the government to have smoke detectors in pretty much every room of the house, even though I carry a smoke detector with me everywhere I go (my nose), and don't engage in the behavior most likely to start a fire int he home (cigarette smoking).

I am required by the government to wear a seatbelt when I am in a car, even though I drive safely, and have never in my almost five decades on this Earth had an instance of a seatbelt saving me from death or injury.

Agents of my government whose primary function is to give out traffic tickets are issued bullet proof vests, firearms that they carry all the time, automatic weapons in their cars, and an armored vehicle at the station (yes, my local PD has an MRAP, even though we've never had the kind of incident that would require one).

When I enter many government buildings, I am forced to go through a search, including a metal detector - even though nobody has ever assassinated a government official in such a building in my town or county (there was one such incident, in a nearby city, but it was a recently resigned city supervisor and former police officer, so he had special access both to the facility and to the firearm that he used).

Who exactly is being paranoid here, me, or the government?