If you ask me, carrying a weapon of any kind is asking for trouble. As soon as you pull out a weapon, you are fair game as an equal partner in the struggle. You're an individual who pulls out a baton/knife/bear spray/illegal handgun to use on an aggressor, nine times out of ten it will be taken away from you and likely used against you. At a minimum, you're going to be more severely assaulted and will probably sustain more severe injuries than if you hadn't pulled the weapon in the first place. Real life is not the movies. It never works out how you think it will. It just makes you artificially and foolishly brave.