It can be, especially if you can carry openly. People are less likely to mess with you if they know you have a gun. It might depend on where you are and who you come across. If you're in a really bad place or encounter really bad people, you could be fucked no matter what kind of protection you have. That said, I hate people's hatred of guns, hysteria about them and the irrational, knee-jerk arguments against them. Guns aren't bad. Gun are inanimate objects. They can be used for good or bad. It's about the person using them. You can kill or hurt people in many ways. Only when it comes to guns do people blame the object/weapon of choice instead of the person. But I guess that's not totally true because Britain is stupidly waging war on knives too.