I am Chinese living in Dallas area, had a CHL for five years let it expire recently. Never once did I actually carry anything, and it wasn't until a few years ago that in Texas they allowed open carry, for the longest time "printing" was illegal. Even getting pulled over a speeding ticket was a pain because you are required to show both ID's and inform the LEO that you have a gun with you etc and most of the time they get very suspicious and defensive and assume you are going to do something bad. Unless you are very skilled and/or practice a lot to keep proficient or spend thousands of bucks to take one of those training courses like at Front Sight at Las Vegas, etc small handguns are very hard to shoot accurately especially at any respectable range in the the heat of real battle when your life is on the line and its not just target practice at gun range. Larger handguns are just too bulky and inconvenient to carry on your every day just in case something happens. Rifles with the appropriate accessories and in a home perimeter defence scenario might make more sense though, but even when you do shoot in self defense you probably are going to get charged and will need to lawyer up, potentially losing years of your life and/or your life savings and if convicted will never be able to find a job again. The one and only time I got held at gunpoint was when jogging with my dad at night at the local high school track by a bunch of teenagers, most people don't go packing heat for self defence when jogging and don't expect to get robbed on a school track. Home defence with rifle is a good idea, but using a handgun to protect yourself is of limited use. Keeping one in the car is a good idea. But carrying one on your person unless you are ex military or ex law enforcement will more often than not be more trouble than its worth.
