I much prefer gas, and we use our BBQ at least 3x a week. Charcoal is no fun whatsover - little control over the temperature, takes ages to heat up, ash blowing everywhere, and it stays hot for hours after you are done with it (although Murphy's Law often kicks in to say that it will run out of puff when your food is only half-cooked). And you have to store the lighter fluid which is highly dangerous.
Using a gas grill is not the same as cooking indoors. Who puts a slab of meat directly on their hob burner?
According to Ainslie, in his Big Cook Out book:
"There are two basic types of barbecue available - charcoal or gas - and whichever you choose, they both work on the same basic principles.
"The food is placed on a rack over the heat and, as it cooks, it releases melted fat and cooking juices. These fall off on to the heat source (charcoal, coals, lava rocks or metal bars or plates), which converts this moisture into smoke that then rises up and flavours the food. Contrary to popular belief, charcoal in itself imparts no actual flavour - it is only the smoke from the cooking juices and any aromatics added to the coals that actually add any flavour to the food - so you do, in fact, get that same outdoor flavour when you use gas too."