That's exactly what stopped a 1997 shooting spree in Pearl, Mississippi, when an assistant principal retrieved a gun from his car, and immobilized the gunman until police arrived. Large, urban, densely populated areas benefit the most from concealed-carry laws. Ironically, these are the areas where opposition to such laws by politicians is greatest. Women who carry concealed handguns provide a greater margin of safety for other women. While murder rates decline when either more men or more women carry concealed handguns, the drop is even greater among women than among men.
Rapists are particularly susceptible to the deterrence of a potentially armed woman.
Firearm-prohibitionists often argue that, as more people carry handguns, accidents are bound to increase. However, Lott found that accident and suicide rates are unaltered by the presence of concealed handguns. Some may not like what Lott has to say, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be held accountable to the truth. Public policy ought not be held hostage to bias, hysteria, or ignorance. As Lott demonstrates, even those bent on disarming their fellow Americans are made safer by the choice of responsible citizens to own and carry firearms for protection.