Concealed Carry and Responsibility

I'm probably going to make some people mad today.  I'm probably going to sound like a pinko-liberal-anti-gun person.  I assure you, I am NOT.  I'm just concerned that some "lawful" gun owners are going to give us all a bad reputation.

There was a recent story about a shooting in Florida.  You can look up the details yourself, but I'll sum it up for you.  It appears that a guy was watching a movie in a theater, when he was greatly distracted by a guy texting in front of him.  After a short argument, he got up and told management, which is the right thing to do.  But, instead of asking for a refund and leaving, or maybe changing seats (the theater was not at all full), he came back into the theater and started arguing with the guy texting again.  Of course if you heard the news, you would know that the guy texting threw a bag of popcorn at the guy complaining.  The guy with the gun said he "felt threatened", and shot and killed the guy texting.  The shooter is obviously in jail now....

Worse, this all happened during a PREVIEW - not the feature movie.  The victim left a wife and daughter.  He was texting the babysitter.

Then we can look at other situations, especially the Treyvon Martin incident.  While I believe Zimmerman was LEGALLY correct according to Florida laws, I don't believe he was MORALLY justified in shooting Martin.  I am really upset that it was a black/white/whatever incident that the media made it out to be, and I won't comment more on that.  It was a moral issue to me - I don't care what your skin color is, and I see no racism in what happened there, except after the fact.  Then, I see black people taking advantage of a situation (that's a whole 'nother blog entry for some other time!).

My point is very simple:  Even if it is legally justified to shoot someone, it may not be moral.  Remember the term used is "deadly force" when it comes to law enforcement.  The guy in the theater should have NEVER had a gun in the first place.  Further information suggests that he was prone to anger issues.  If you have an issue with anger, why on earth would you even THINK of carrying a gun?

I was always taught that if you are going to point a gun at someone, you better make sure you are prepared to kill that person.  Forget all the legal bullshit of "stopping" someone for now - "stopping" may or may not be the same as "killing", but as far as I'm concerned, I am not interested in the difference if my life is in danger.  Of course I don't ever want - or intend - to kill anyone.  I'm not sure if I could ever live with myself if I had to kill someone.  I will not hesitate to shoot to "stop" someone, but remember that to "stop" someone could be the same as killing someone, even if the killing part is an unintentional consequence.

Bottom line is that when you carry a gun, you also carry a responsibility.  Not just a legal responsibility, but a moral responsibility.  

The responsibility is not easy to explain, and not always clear.  I'll give you some examples.  You are walking down a dark street.  A man approaches you, and asks for your wallet "or else".  Do you pull your gun on him?  I hope not until you see that he is armed, but if you don't clearly see that he is, then give him your damn wallet!  The question - lose what's in your wallet or live with killing someone (and possibly jail time!)?

Next example, you are walking down that same street and five guys approach you and ask for your wallet "or else".  Now what to do?  Obviously, five guys against one could certainly put your life at risk.  My answer is still the same - if I don't see a weapon, I'm giving them my wallet.

Next example, one man approaches you on the same street and says he's going to kill you and take your wallet.  Same answer as before - if I don't see a weapon, I guess I hope I can defend myself with my hands or whatever else I can.  I'm NOT pulling my gun unless I see that he has a weapon.  I'm sorry, but I'd rather take a beating than have to live with shooting an unarmed assailant.

Next example, a group of five -unarmed- men approaches and say they are going to kill me and take my wallet.  This is a really tough one.  On one hand, I would surely be legally justified to use my weapon, especially if they were actively attacking me.  On the other hand, I would morally be obligated to run (if no weapons were visible).  Seeing that I'm a fat old man, I probably couldn't run far, and probably my life truly would be in danger.  If that were the case, then I feel I would be justified legally and morally to use deadly force.

(Home invasions are a completely different example.  I believe that if someone is breaking into my home, they are already intent on taking a life and assumed armed.  If a criminal is breaking in or has already broken into my home, I will use whatever force necessary to stop that person - no moral question for me here.  Legally,in MY state, this is justified use of deadly force, and in my opinion morally justified use of deadly force.  Your laws may vary, so take a minute and research them!)

My point is that it is NOT going to always be a cut-and-dry decision.  A man coming after me with a knife, sure, I'm going to ventilate him.  A man coming at me with a baseball bat, probably.  A man coming at me with his fist, I'll take a beating if necessary.  A man coming after my family, well that might be different.

What about the people behind your attacker?  Is it a busy street?  Will you hit what you intend to shoot or will you have to live with injuring or killing an innocent person?  I shoot pretty well at the range, but what about in a stressful situation?  Here are the FBI shooting distance statistics:

Contact to 5 feet:  53%

6 to 10 feet:          21%

11 to 20 feet:        12%

21 to 50 feet:          8%

Over 50 feet:          6%

In 70% of all cases, sight alignment was not used.  In 20%, only the barrel was used as a reference for alignment, and 10% could not remember if sight alignment was used at all.  In all cases, ALL shootings within 9 feet were shot using only a one-handed stance.

86% were killed at 21 feet or less - 7 yards.  So why is everyone practicing their handgun shooting skills at 20 or 25+ yards, with a nice textbook isosceles or Weaver stance?  In a draw and shoot scenario (as most statistics show to be the case), do you really think you will be able to line up the sights, get into a stance, concentrate on breathing control (now that's funny!), and trigger squeeze?  Maybe you can, if you are a professional pistol competitor.  I can't, but I do practice to get better at point shooting at close range!  Keep in mind that these statistics are from law enforcement officers - not the general population - that are carrying handguns in readily accessible belt holsters, and may have known the details of the situation prior to getting into the scenario, therefore better prepared to handle the situation.

Here's one more example, then I promise I'll stop boring you with them.  You are in a convenience store.  Two armed men come in, pointing the gun at the cashier demanding cash.  You are carrying a gun, and have a lot of training.  What do you do?  You are probably legally justified to shoot.  You may also be morally justified to shoot (I can't think for you, but I would personally be morally ok with it).  There are three possible outcomes - one, that there are two "stopped" attackers and no other injuries.  Two, that you and the clerk end up dead or injured.  Three, that the two attackers take the money and leave with no one injured.  Of course in situation one, you would have to know that you had the skill to draw and fire at two targets, who already had their guns drawn, and stop them before they injured you or anyone else.  Are you honestly and realistically that good?  I like the third scenario - I could always thank God that no one was injured, and contact law enforcement with the description, direction of travel, etc. to let them do their job.  Was my life in danger in this scenario?  Only you can decide, and only if you are IN that situation.  Would it be different if your family was with you?  

Everyone is different.  Every situation is different.  If you are a 90 pound woman and a 250 pound guy is getting ready to attack you with just his fists, then you obviously have more need to escalate to deadly force.  For me, maybe not.  I'd just rather take the chance and be morally and legally right.  I can recover from a beating, but I may not recover from taking a life that I feel was not morally right - even if it is legally right.

This brings me back to the law enforcement term, "deadly force".  If you TRULY feel that your life or your family's LIFE is in danger, then BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY, protect them.  Shoot to "stop" the threat of losing your life.  Just remember, that stopping someone might mean that they don't live after you stop them with a firearm.

Carrying a gun is NOT for everyone.  If you have ANY doubt about using the firearm, then absolutely DO NOT carry one.  If I just talked you out of carrying, then I'm ok with that.  It is not possible to process and think about all of this when you are in a dangerous situation.  We've all heard the stories about a weak person pulling out a gun only to have it taken away and used against them by the attacker.  If you take the responsibility to carry a gun, then you must take the responsibility to know how to use it, and have the mindset to use it effectively - to stop the threat, whatever the consequences.

For me, I will take on that responsibility.  I will take on the responsibility to learn to be safe, learn the laws, and be proficient with my firearm.  I will also take on the responsibility and realization that pointing a gun at someone, no matter the situation, may end with that someone stopped - permanently - and there will be effects on me afterward.  Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise.

Jay's Note - this was a hard one to write.  I have so many things to say about this that I can't possibly write it all here, and I'm at a loss to really make my point.  I was just trying to give you an idea of the responsibility involved with carrying a firearm.  Some people can't handle it, and that's ok.  I also don't proclaim to be an expert on the subject, and I'm not sure there are too many people that are truly experts on the subject.  I have only been in one situation where I felt the moral and legal need to remove my pistol from my holster (as a civilian), and the situation ended before it turned bad.  Everyone is different, and every situation is different.  Please excuse my rambling paragraphs above - I can't think for you, and hope I am not implying as such.  If you are going to carry a firearm, please seek professional training, and know the laws in your area!!!