When I came out to a buddy from college, one of his reactions was along the lines of: since college he knew a gay couple that feared for their physical safety at times, because they were gay. My reaction was:I live in Texas. If I was afraid that I would be bashed, I would get a gun.
Guns are the great equalizer. You don't need a feudal lord if you can protect yourself from bandits. Or, to use a more contemporary example, if the people being dragged off to Hitler's death camps had guns, and had a 1:1 exchange instead [you will kill me, but I'll kill you first], you have to wonder if it could have changed things.