Armed, but is she dangerous?

  "To carry a firearm or not," that's a question in the minds of many — especially women — with so many reports of violence against females.

  A would-be pistol packer must answer this question: "If you are in fear of your life, could you use your weapon?" That's difficult to answer unless you've actually "been there."

  There's a report of a young South Carolina mother accosted in the parking lot of a shopping center. She was putting her infant into a car seat when a man reached around and grabbed her baby.

  The woman pulled a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol out of her purse. For an instant she had the upper hand — at two feet how could she miss the guy? But her moment of victory was short lived.

  The guy smiled, grabbed the gun out of her hand, and pointed it at the baby. That's how he forced the young mother to drive to a remote area where he raped her, then simply walked away. The case remains unsolved.

  Then there's the woman at a shopping center in central Kentucky who was tossed into the trunk of her own car by a burly predator.

  As the would-be rapist drove out of the parking lot, the kidnapped woman listened as he bragged about what he was going to do to her.

  The terrified woman lay cramped in the trunk of her own car for what seemed an eternity. She considered her options — and there weren't many. Then she made a decision.

  The car stopped. Laughing as he unlocked the trunk, the predator continued telling the woman about his sadistic plans for her.

  As the trunk lid swung upward the terrified woman fired a volley of five shots from her .38-caliber Colt revolver. All five bullets found their way to the center of the man's chest.

  The woman said she regretted killing him, "but it would have been a lot worse if my mother had to read about the cops finding my body out in the woods."

  Editor's note: The woman had a "concealed carry" permit and had been trained in the use of her firearm.