ilbbaicnl said: "I don't own a gun, but is gun safety that complicated?"
The first part of that question really informs the ignorance of the second part of that question. I mean, gun safety all by itself isn't quantum mechanics, but when it comes to the split-second decisions of a self-defense situations, there is a lot that you need to know and think about before you point a gun at someone, at least if you don't want that situation to go horribly sideways. And then there's a different set of training to cover how to operate a gun in a highly stressful and fast moving conflict without losing control of the gun, shooting yourself, or shooting an innocent bystander.
"For self-defense in a bar or something, I think I'd prefer a switch blade anyway"
While that makes it harder (but not impossible...) to hurt a bystander, using a knife in self defense is a learned skill. And if you don't have that skill, and your opponents decides to not be afraid of your knife, then there's a pretty good chance that it's not going to go well for you.
"But I wonder if it wouldn't work better to get a good sized truck and just run over as many of them as possible before they take you out."
Oh, now I understand. You're a moron.
I know how to shoot based on a lot of experience, but I've never had to defend myself with a gun and I hope I never have to. Because the moment you pull a gun, you're making the decision to kill someone (shooting someone in the leg or shoulder is great on TV, but it's bullshit in real life). For the vast majority of men and women, if you're going into standard environments where you think you might need to defend yourself, then it's much smarter and safer to have some pepper spray, mace, or those incognito knuckle dusters. If you lack good training, then it's more likely that your gun or knife will wind up causing you more harm than your attacker.
That's why I'm not nervous about a stripper owning a gun just because she's a stripper. I'd be nervous because the vast majority of people who own a gun for "self defense" don't know sweet fuck all about using a gun for self defense. But as far as OTC is concerned ... if you're the sort of guy who might do something that'll get you shot by a stripper, then there's a pretty good chance that you deserve to be shot by a stripper.