Lasers can be good weapons, especially in space.

In atmosphere, water vapor, energy requirements, etc can fuck up a lasers effectiveness. But even here it could be far more destructive than a bullet.

In space, where firing a bullet at something 186,000 miles away would take about a hundred hours to get there... or a laser a second. Not to mention space is a balance between too hot and too cold, and targeting specific things might cripple an opposing starship easily.