It doesn't mean I want to but I was placed in the position of responsibility to love and protect my spouse and children, not to rollover and die at the first sign of trouble.
Plenty of people are bigmouths and quick to shut up when they realize they might get what they asked for.
Whether armed or unarmed, your best bet is calling the cops: that was my point. They are experienced in establishing whether there was intent of real harm, and providing unbiased evidence of illegal behaviour like threats to courts.
In most of the world, you using a weapon at the first "sign of trouble" would be considered an excessive response, and for good reason — which means that you might end up in more legal trouble than the person threatening you.