Girls and Guns

One day after shopping for prom dresses I walked back to my car in broad daylight when someone came up and grabbed me in a tight embrace lifting me off the ground. For the first second I was frozen in shock and surprise and then I cried out "NO!" and kicked my legs to make contact with something. But in the next second it clicked in my mind there was nothing I could do to get out of the arm lock. I started crying and my boyfriend's (at the time) face came into view and he tried to calm me down from the stupid prank his friend tried to pull to scare me. Since then, I've walked terrified in every parking lot whether day or night.
At five feet tall I am smaller and shorter than most of the adult population. Even if I could take self defense courses and lift weights- any attacker would have the advantage of size over me. So lately I've been thinking about self preservation and protecting myself, especially since M will be on rotations and then in residency and that might mean some nights alone unprotected. That terrifies me.
We are going to start looking for guns. I know gun control is a hot topic after the CT shooting, and I'm fully for stricter gun laws that screen the people who can hold guns- especially annual mental health screenings, but a black belt is not going to do shit against a 200lb man, so I'm looking into firepower. First things first is safety. I'll be buying a secured safe to store a gun in and then look for a safety training course.
Did you do anything differently when your significant other began working nights? How do you keep yourself safe?