And yet somehow I feel this might not be the best path forward.

Well… let’s try it out for a little and see what happens.

Typically without solid training what happens is the weapon gets turned on the wrong person.

But, for the sake of a good time we can imagine some asshole pervs getting lit up like a cigar. Heh heh. Awesome.

Honestly, I hope it is more deterrent than anything else

Great, create more fear in society and pit people against each other and give them weapons, too. Winning concept.

Pit people against whom? Their active attacker? Who are you worried about making afraid?

It’s just a weapon. It can be used by anybody, against anybody, for any reason. Being willing to use a weapon against other people doesn’t mean you are justified in doing so. This particular weapon is probably most useful for disfiguring people. There’s a fair chance that some over-entitled ex-boyfriends and stalkers might find a use for it.