Regretably, with the current super-strict guidelines for the issuance of a permit to carry (due to GMA's order suspending all PTCs last January ata), having a gun won't be of much help since you'd have to leave it home all the time :mad:

Besides, for a gun to be effective, you'd have to be so familiar with its operation that you could instinctively draw and fire on demand even when you are surprised or under stress. And that level of skill takes several weeks or months to master.

If someone feels they need a gun for protection, by all means get one, but train with it regularly after you get it. By regular, I mean, twice a month at the range, with additional dry-fire practice in a safe room in your home.

For everyone else, a lot of street awareness, caution, and some non-lethal tool such as mace or a telescopic baton may be more useful. But as with all tools, practice with deploying the thing is essential.