Back in 74 my wife had a job delivering items in the central St. Pete area, sometimes after dark. The area was pretty bad back then for crime. I bought her a 25 caliber beretta and made her carry it in her pocketbook, knowing it was against the law. While working one early evening (just got dark) she thought she was being followed. She panicked and pulled into a parking lot and tried to hide in the back. Bad decision. There was no one around as the business was closed. The car that was following her pulled up and parked behind her so she couldn't back out and leave. There were three guys in the car. The driver stays behind the wheel. The other two get out and approach my wife's car. Fortunately she had locked the doors. Both dudes have a screwdriver type item (my wife's description) with them and they attempt to open the doors. My wife reaches into her pocketbook and displays her gun. The one on her side of the car hollers to the other dude "the bitch has a gun". They both run to their car and leave quite quickly. My wife calls the police and relates most of the story (without telling them about her gun). To this day I feel that the gun at least saved her from being robbed and possibly kidnapped, beaten, raped, or murdered. I was a strong proponent of honest law abiding citizens carrying a gun. After the incident my opinion got even stronger. If guns are outlawed one day, I and the wife will still carry a gun. To me it's worth fighting for the right, even if it costs me some jail or prision time. My two cents