To put it in short terms, every subtle design decision Ruger makes in a pistol just screams, "We're a sporting toy company at heart!" That's what makes it hesitant for me to buy a WEAPON from them.
There is no reason why Ruger SR9 cannot be used for personal security.
However, for whatever reason, it seems Ruger always makes decisions that misses the mark for fighting guns. It's not enough to make its use not feasible, but just enough for it to be graded lower.
For example, SR series comes with an adjustable sight with no cocking step on the rear sight. If they were serious about adjustability, they should have went with something like the rear sight of Springfield Range Officer.
However, rather than being serious about precision, it just appears like Ruger put a crude imitation of a Novak sight on it, then slapped an adjustment feature as an afterthought just to attract customers who don't know better.
That's something that bothers me about Ruger's guns. They just can't seem to resist the "Let's add a little bit of 'sporting toy' taste in there" urge that lowers their class. Sort of like, hypothetically, Colt making a great AR-15, but for whatever reason insist that the collapsible stock be make of walnut.
Same goes for them not offering a good protective finish on the SR series until recently. I've heard the black version is nitrided now, but it used to be just Blued which is substandard.
People may have different opinions about thumb switch type manual firing inhibitors, but the fact that Ruger refuses to make an SR series without one is also inline with that attitude.
If S&W can be pressured by consumer demand to make the Shield witout thumb switch (just look at how the S&W sells when they offered the non-thumb swith one) , you'd think there would be a demand for the same for SR series.
It's not because there is no demand for an SR without a thumb switch. It's purly because Ruger plugging their ears with their fingers with their eyes closed, and saying "Sporing gun, sporting gun, sporting gun for life!!!" It is that attitude that I feel a distaste.