Guns and Hikers

A King Features Syndicate journalist named Charley Reese uses Meredith Emerson's murder as a platform for a 22 January 2008 opinion piece named "Arm Yourself" in which he suggests doing that -- even if, as he admits, it is illegal:

"The young lady recently murdered while hiking the southern tip of the Appalachian Trail might be alive today if she had tucked a pistol into her backpack or fanny pack. Yes, I know it's against the law to carry a pistol on the trail, but which would you prefer – breaking a bureaucratic rule or getting your brains knocked out and then being decapitated?

"I'm afraid too many of us have spent our lives in an urban environment and have thus lost touch with the reality of the outdoors. When you go into the woods by yourself, you leave not only your car behind, but the protection of the law. When you are by yourself, whether on an urban street or in a forest, and someone comes along with the intention of assaulting you, you are on your own. There is no help. Your choice is run or fight. And a fight is a physical thing, not an intellectual matter."

My opinion? Reese has indeed "lost touch with the reality of the outdoors"!

[Also appears in the Ft. Myers, FL News-Press under the title "Guns good for self-defense, but think about it" on 23 January 2008.]