Why I carry a handgun for protection, Vol. 24

So that if I happen to be set upon by two coyotes while hiking alone in a national park, I will be able to successfully defend my life against the vicious and unprovoked attack.

Does that scenario sound a little far-fetched? Well, it isn't. It's unfortunately exactly what happened to 19-year-old singer-songwriter Taylor Mitchell, who on Tuesday tragically lost her life in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in one of those horrific events that anti-gun zealots such as the Violence Policy Center and the Brady Campaign swear up and down just never occur to ordinary people.

"'Coyotes are very shy animals,' [animal behavior expert Simon] Gadbois said. 'To me, this looks like two yearlings with very little hunting experience, probably very hungry, maybe a little bit desperate.'"

Who cares why the animals attacked Mitchell? What matters is that they did, and now this by-all-accounts very nice young woman is dead.

Since the park where the incident occurred is in Nova Scotia, Canada, an "enlightened" country that bars the lawful carrying of defensive firearms by its citizens, Ms. Mitchell wouldn't have had the option of using a handgun to fight off what was basically a wild dog attack, even if she had had the desire and training to do so. Instead, she found herself at the mercy of what official "help" was available, which arrived far too late to do any good:

"The Ottawa Citizen reports that another hiker heard her screams and called emergency services. Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers arrived at the scene and shot one of the coyotes, though both animals escaped."

Violent attacks by predators (of the two or four-legged variety) can happen in a heartbeat to regular people just going about their lives, whether they are in the inner city or out in the wild back country. Please take the appropriate steps to allow yourself to fight back if you become one of them, as in many situations this will determine whether or not you survive the encounter.