We need to eat, we need to breath, and we need shelter. We WANT a nice meal, we WANT to breath the open air, and we WANT to live in a $250k home.
None of us really NEED rifles, the infrastructure is in place that we don't NEED to rely on hunting for food. But ultimately, we WANT to, and it's an alternative option to relying on industrial supply chains for our sustenence.
Personally, if I want something and I can make it happen, I buy it. But that has absolutely nothing to do with what I NEED. Yes, WANTING something can justify a purchase, but no, "extreme want" does NOT classify as a "need".
Now, there's a difference in really wanting something, and really being able to pay for it. If you comfortably have $1500 to dump on a quality AR, then go for it. If you're scraping to get by, then I suppose you know the answer to that.
Anyone else remember those commercials a few years back, the guy is standing in his front yard watering the lawn, telling about how nice his house is, and the new cars they have, and the new boat in the driveway, and how his kids are going to Ivy league colleges... And then he says "you want to know how I do it? I'm in debt up to my eyeballs"... I still get a kick out of that every time I think of it.