Pepper spray and tear gas, which are legal to carry in California, are probably more useful. You can use them in situations where shooting someone would get you charged with assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, or murder. Against crazies and druggies, brandishing a gun without using it isn't that effective and may make things worse. Cops struggle with this - they're called to deal with crazies, it's hard to do, and shooting them is not a good option.
It really isn't. In the class for a concealed and carry permit, they told us not to carry anything other than a gun. The rationale being that if you have something less lethal than a gun on you and you shoot someone, you'll get raked over the coals about why you didn't use the less lethal option. This doesn't happen if you aren't carrying anything else, it was your only option.
This might be different for those with police/military training, but even then thinking clearly with a full adrenaline dump in your system is hit or miss at best.
