by Robin Arquette

About the author: Robin Arquette, a freelance writer, focuses on women’s issues.

In 1991, I wrote an essay for this page called “I Want to Feel Safe Again,” which explained why I had decided to carry a gun. I still believe that a woman stands a better chance of surviving an assault if she is armed. But my gun no longer travels with me wherever I go.

Ibought the gun after Kate, my 18-year-old sister, was murdered. In 1989, she was driving home from a girlfriend’s house around 10:30, when she was chased by another car and shot twice in the head.

Her murder remains unsolved. After her death, I began to feel afraid. I saw the world as a threatening place and felt that I would be...