Bear Attack
Several people were injured and one was killed in a recent attack by a bear(s) in a Wyoming campground. These were not backpackers, where the total weight of one's backpack is a very serious matter and you are happy when you can lower the weight of something by a few ounces (grams). These were car campers driving great big honker, poor fuel-economy SUVs and pickup trucks. A few pounds give or take is irrelevant in this kind of luxury camping.
To me it seems crystal clear that if several of these campers had been armed with loaded .44 magnum revolvers kept next to them in their sleeping bags, the dead man might still be alive.
I do not advocate killing wild animals. I think predators like wolves, bears, and even snakes are essential to the health of their ecosystems. And us humans are the ones who are intruding upon their space after all. When the Republican Texas Governor Perry was out getting some morning exercise and was stalked by one lone coyote, he sadisticly enjoyed killing the animal with his laser sighted .380 Ruger LCP semi-automatic pistol. He derived great pleasure from bragging about it later too.
When a pack of three coyotes stalked me and my dog one morning not long ago, I was able to intimidate them enough to allow us to safely return to our car. I was also armed with a loaded, laser sighted handgun. I do not deny that I was openly carrying it in my right hand, and I was fully prepared to shoot as we retreated. The key is, I did not. It was not necessary to kill these wonderful, amazing wild animals.
But beyond a certain somewhat fuzzy and gray tipping point, I eventually would have felt threatened enough to shoot to kill. Certainly if I was sleeping in a tent, a bear broke in, and I awoke to him (her??) biting me, I would not have delayed one heartbeat. I would have felt no qualms about killing this magnificent wild animal. In a kill or be killed situation, telling the campers that they may not legally be armed is more than a little unwise. This is one of those situations where the second amendment can save lives.
When the rangers go searching for the bear offender the next day, they will kill it if they can manage to find and identify it. But this doesn't bring back to life that poor camper who died.
Ban alcoholic beverages, not loaded firearms.
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