"To carry a firearm or not," that’s a question in the minds of many-especially women-with so many reports of violence.

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, but her moment of victory was brief.

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 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 stranger.

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 for what seemed an eternity. She considered her options-and there weren’t many. She made her decision.

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

As the trunk lid swung open the terrified woman opened fire with a volley of five shots from her .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol. All five bullets found their way into the center of the man’s chest.

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