I was talking with one of my co-workers today about handguns, going over various laws and so on.
He's a new shooter, and doesn't know much about guns, let alone concealed carry (Which he is considering). During this discussion he touched on the topic of defensive shooting in the event of something like the theater shooting in Aurora or perhaps even Virginia Tech.
He had asked what I would do in such a situation, would I try to help by neutralizing the threat (provided I was armed at the time, regardless of how unlikely it was considering the laws regarding such zones in the given state)
I replied stating that at risk of sounding calloused or cold, I would not do anything until I had a more clear understand of what is going on. My first and foremost objective is to ensure that me and those who I love/care about get out of the area safely. If the perpatrator is not aiming his gun at me, I will not fire my weapon unless there is a clear threat to me and those I hold dear.
He was a little perplexed by this response, asking why I wouldn't fire if I had the opportunity to prevent others from getting hurt.
My response to this is that hindsight is a luxuary that we have as onlookers/survivors. They should have done this, he/she should have done that, I could have done this etc.
We can look at the situation and make sound logical judgements because we have a more clear understanding of what was taking place at that time.
The problem is, if you try to look at the event objectively, and from the point of view of the victims, the scene would likely be chaotic, confusing with emotions and adrenaline running high.
People likely would be running in every direction, harkening back to our "fight or flight" insticts, natural response would be to flee the threat. Granted lets say I do decide to try and assist in preventing that threat from committing further atrocities, a logical analysis of the situation would likely not be in my favor at that time (which of course is very subjective to the eb and flow of the events taking place at that time and location)
dozens if not hundreds of people fleeing the area, without any sense of coordination, mass panic, and in the case of aurora, a heavily armed and armored individual being the cause.
There are some things to consider in such a situation, all of which may not be easy to process at the time.
First, if I fire, I increase the liklihood of myself getting shot myself, that in itself is something to consider, especially if the hostile individual is not threatening me at that immediate time (As in actively shooting at me in particular), why draw his fire at me, which may work for or against me in a court case (more on that later)
second, I must take into account that if I miss, I have a fairly high probablity of hitting an innocent, wounding or in the worst case scenario, killing them outright, making me guilty of 2nd degree manslaughter and/or possibly other charges.
third, even if I don't miss, there are other innocents around my immediate vicinity, if that first shot is not an incapacitating one (the human body is extremely resilient, especially in such cases and can operate even when mortally wounded. Anything less than a vital shot to the head or perhaps even the heart may not end the threat at that moment) this may endanger those around me as the hostile individual may begin focusing his or her fire on me, and those around me. I am suddenly not only charged with my own safety but of those around me. I can see the court hearing already, stating that if I had not fired, several joes or janes may not have been wounded/killed.
Would I help if the situation and the parameters surrounding that situation were right? Maybe, it really depends. My duty, at least IMO, is to get those that I care about to safety, I am not a vigilante nor am I a sheepdog.
All of this is subjective of course, and to be honest I am not entirely sure what I would do in such a situation (logic would dictate that I would flee with those I love to get them out of harms way).
A clear understanding of both local and federal laws is necessary if you wish to CCW, not to mention what responsabilities that come with it to include the legal implications surrounding such privilages incur if you find yourself in a situation (god forbid) where you must use that weapon.
A little food for thought for the new guy.
I'd appreciate some of your feedback on how I handled this topic, as well as how you interpret it.
He's a new shooter, and doesn't know much about guns, let alone concealed carry (Which he is considering). During this discussion he touched on the topic of defensive shooting in the event of something like the theater shooting in Aurora or perhaps even Virginia Tech.
He had asked what I would do in such a situation, would I try to help by neutralizing the threat (provided I was armed at the time, regardless of how unlikely it was considering the laws regarding such zones in the given state)
I replied stating that at risk of sounding calloused or cold, I would not do anything until I had a more clear understand of what is going on. My first and foremost objective is to ensure that me and those who I love/care about get out of the area safely. If the perpatrator is not aiming his gun at me, I will not fire my weapon unless there is a clear threat to me and those I hold dear.
He was a little perplexed by this response, asking why I wouldn't fire if I had the opportunity to prevent others from getting hurt.
My response to this is that hindsight is a luxuary that we have as onlookers/survivors. They should have done this, he/she should have done that, I could have done this etc.
We can look at the situation and make sound logical judgements because we have a more clear understanding of what was taking place at that time.
The problem is, if you try to look at the event objectively, and from the point of view of the victims, the scene would likely be chaotic, confusing with emotions and adrenaline running high.
People likely would be running in every direction, harkening back to our "fight or flight" insticts, natural response would be to flee the threat. Granted lets say I do decide to try and assist in preventing that threat from committing further atrocities, a logical analysis of the situation would likely not be in my favor at that time (which of course is very subjective to the eb and flow of the events taking place at that time and location)
dozens if not hundreds of people fleeing the area, without any sense of coordination, mass panic, and in the case of aurora, a heavily armed and armored individual being the cause.
There are some things to consider in such a situation, all of which may not be easy to process at the time.
First, if I fire, I increase the liklihood of myself getting shot myself, that in itself is something to consider, especially if the hostile individual is not threatening me at that immediate time (As in actively shooting at me in particular), why draw his fire at me, which may work for or against me in a court case (more on that later)
second, I must take into account that if I miss, I have a fairly high probablity of hitting an innocent, wounding or in the worst case scenario, killing them outright, making me guilty of 2nd degree manslaughter and/or possibly other charges.
third, even if I don't miss, there are other innocents around my immediate vicinity, if that first shot is not an incapacitating one (the human body is extremely resilient, especially in such cases and can operate even when mortally wounded. Anything less than a vital shot to the head or perhaps even the heart may not end the threat at that moment) this may endanger those around me as the hostile individual may begin focusing his or her fire on me, and those around me. I am suddenly not only charged with my own safety but of those around me. I can see the court hearing already, stating that if I had not fired, several joes or janes may not have been wounded/killed.
Would I help if the situation and the parameters surrounding that situation were right? Maybe, it really depends. My duty, at least IMO, is to get those that I care about to safety, I am not a vigilante nor am I a sheepdog.
All of this is subjective of course, and to be honest I am not entirely sure what I would do in such a situation (logic would dictate that I would flee with those I love to get them out of harms way).
A clear understanding of both local and federal laws is necessary if you wish to CCW, not to mention what responsabilities that come with it to include the legal implications surrounding such privilages incur if you find yourself in a situation (god forbid) where you must use that weapon.
A little food for thought for the new guy.
I'd appreciate some of your feedback on how I handled this topic, as well as how you interpret it.
