Taking a Life

[Renbots]

Good article.
http://www.carryutah.com/ccw-articles/just-because-its-legal-that-doesnt-make-it-smart-and

[Sooner]

Personally I do not see much value to this article. I think there are 2 very important questions a person should ask themselves before having a fire arm for self defense. #1 is could I actually shoot someone. #2 is can I live with myself if I shoot someone. If the answer is no, then don't have a fire arm. In most self defense situations, you are going to have a split second to make the decision to shoot or not. If some sob puts me in that situation, they are going to get shot. You have no time to think that you are shooting someones son, father, etc. etc. If you interrupt someone stealing your TV from your home, you have no idea if they are armed or not. Do you want to take the chance the idiot is or not. I will not take that chance. I take a very dim view of someone who would choose to steal from me or do me harm. I personally do not care if they are someones son, father, etc. They made their choice when tried to steal or do harm to me.

[B2Tall]

Waking up to find an intruder in your home is vastly different from a chance encounter in public (i.e. road rage, a drunk, a bully, etc.). It's one thing to break into a home that probably isn't occupied. It's another thing entirely to break into a home where people are obviously present. In that case I'm going to assume that the intruder has more than just theft on their mind.

Since I started carrying a number of years ago, I've become much more tolerant....much more likely to turn the other cheek. If at all possible I want to avoid any situation where I might need my pistol. When somebody breaks into my home while I'm there, that dreaded situation has come to me whether I like it or not. In that case my level of tolerance plummets and I don't believe I'll suffer any guilt-trips because of it. As a LEO once told me, better to be alive and answering questions than to be dead and silent.

[hotrod416]

I agree with everything said . I personally feel that people who make the choice to commit crimes have given all self concern away and are aware that they might die in the process of doing the crime , and being a law abiding citizen it is my duty to defend my self and my family at all costs

[fuhr52]

Not only have criminals given all self concern away, if they have been through the criminal justice system, they know they don't have much to fear and if caught they will be back on the street before the police can finish writing their report.

[kelcarry]

THANK YOU SOONER. COULD NOT SAY IT BETTER. Granted I have never killed anyone or even came close to any kind of confrontation that I would consider dangerous to me or my family, but I am absolutely convinced that if I have a presumption of imminent death or great bodily injury I will not not hesitate to use my firearm and will not give one thought to who it was or whether they died or not. If it was in my house, my one and only concern, considering the fact that it will occur once my locked bedroom door has been breached, will be the need to repair the door jam and probably replace the carpet.

[50SR9]

What Sooner said!

[trophyhunter]

Long ago when I decieded to get my CCW I never considered the possibilities of taking someones life. But times were different back then.Now a days you can't even trust your nieghbors.let alone a stranger walking down your street.

For whatever reason people have changed and the change is not for good. I trust no one besides the close circle of friends that we have. Now that I'm a father of four children i'm always looking for danger or an potential threat.

You just never know these days. I know that if the situation ever happened I could, and would take a life to protect my family.I pray it never comes. I know that mentally it would bother me a little, as I'm only human but better them, than me or my family.

[retiredman]

I will share a incident that happened.
My brother and I were out rabbit hunting in a wash in California many years ago when no one cared.

We didn't know that the National Guard was practicing in the wash that day. They were hidden in some bushes and we walked by and never saw them.

After we passed them about 50 yards they dropped a camouflage and had a machine gun with blanks.

They started shooting our way like it was real funny to them.

My brother had a 12 gauge single shot - shot gun. I had a 410.

Without thinking both he and I turned around and shot there direction.

Guess we never hit nothing, because they grabed the machine gun and hauled rear.

In my opinion natural survival kicks in, and you do what you have to.

[wjh2657]

If I am not cornered, I will not draw and fire. If I am cornered, I will draw and fire.

In my house, I am cornered.

If I am in a field of fire, I am cornered.

If the assailant is close and I have no time to retreat, I am cornered.

As to the moral content, I have killed. But in spite of that, I still adhere to the moral principle that I should only kill to save my own (or my Spouse's) life. If I am cornered I am in peril and there is no moral issue.