I was going to have a small filler post for today, cause its my bday, but instead I’m going to write about gun’s and the right to protect.
Reason why I bring this up is because I was listening to The Gun Cast, specifically Episode #10. Kevan asks at the end of the podcast, “Do good citizens have a duty to defend?”. Now I understood this as “Do we have a duty to defend anyone we see in trouble?”. Its a really tuff question to answer, my initial answer if I had to answer only yes or no would be Yes. Now this is a really grey area. For example if you see a large man beating up a woman on the street, you may think mugger or rapist. It may simple be the case of a violent boyfriend, or other simple domestic dispute. Now I’m not saying that its right for a guy to beat up on the lady, but you don’t want to pull your 9mm on the guy.
I think that all humans have an inheirent duty to protect all other humans, but not nessisarily with lethal force. I belive this is key issue to mention, becuase this does come from a GUN related podcast. Also, situation awareness makes a big difference, as in the case I just previously mentioned. There could be any number of things going on, that one should not get involved with, especially not with lethal force (domestic disputes by far is the biggest concern here). Plus, it would really suck if you were to get involved with the previously mentioned dispute when the guy reaches for something in his pocket, that turns out to be a hankerchief instead of a 9mm that you thought — and you shot him.
So what would I do? Obviously, it depends on what I saw. I would ask if the person needs help first, if that was a safe enough option. But, if a guy pulled out a gun, I’d probably shoot him. To be completly honest, I’d be really hesitant to shoot anyone in any situation that wasnt a direct threat to me, unless the other persons already fired shots. I’m not a LEO, and I’m not trained in any way, shape or form to deal with these situations — so best leave it to the professionals.