She was at home with her young children on a late Sunday night. She heard the noise again. It sounded like someone was inside the house.

She didn't pause. She called 9-1-1. Whispering, she informed the police about the break-in. She then awoke her children and hurried them into her bedroom. Next, she took out her 9mm pistol. With her children behind her, she pointed it at the door of her bedroom.

When the intruder stepped through the doorway the business end of the pistol was pointing at him. He spun around and fled before she could fire.

When the police arrived later, she was safe. Her children were safe. A privately-owned firearm had foiled another potential robbery, rape, or murder.

That incident in Sequim, Washington, was a vivid illustration of one reason why Libertarians support the right to keep and bear arms. The more citizens who have the opportunity to own a gun, the safer we all are.

Statistics bear this out. According to a study by John Lott and David Mustard at the University of Chicago, the 31 states with concealed carry laws (which allow law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons), saw their murder rates fall 8.5% faster than states without such laws. If such right-to-carry laws were in effect across the United States, there would be 1,600 fewer murders every year.