It's a bit ironic that Evelyn Theiss of the Cleveland Plain Dealer took a course called RAD, Rape Aggression Defense System, on a Cleveland university campus that prohibits the possession of a firearm for self-defense due to absurd state laws.  In a story written in Tuesday's paper Theiss recalls being attacked twice in her life on walking paths or while jogging - places we've successfully resisted bans on possession of a defensive firearm for the this very reason.

This article is a welcome change of attitude in the news media, where the opinions of editors tend to suggest that you should simply comply with your attackers instead of fighting back.  Give them what they want, escape with your life, or so you hope.  Theiss reports some shocking numbers.  Only 142 cases of the 633 reported rapes from 2008 in Cleveland alone resulted in criminal charges, and we all know that many rapes go unreported for a variety of reasons.

Theiss is advocating learning how to defend yourself in hand to hand combat, as well as investigating methods that you can make yourself less of a target to be victimized.  We have to applaud her for that, and at the same time, we've invited her to take the concealed handgun course and consider a story on the benefits of armed self-defense.   Women of all sizes can be better prepared to defend themselves in their everyday lives, let alone on a secluded walking path, if they're presented with the option of armed self-defense.