Originally Posted By: thseng
Originally Posted By: TheSock
People think by saying you don't have a gun purely to kill, you are advising to shoot to wound.
They repeatedly insiste on a public web site that one can only have a gun to kill people but are expecting a jury to believe they tried to disarm a burglar, only shot when they were forced to and stopped shooting as soon as he was incapacitated.


I have no qualifications to comment on this but I just have to ask...

So, Mr. Sock, did you shoot to kill him?
No, not at all, I only wanted to stop him.
But surely you knew that he would be likely to die as a result of your shooting?
Well, yes, I guess so...
So, you only neeeded to stop him, but you shot and killed him, anyway? I rest my case, your honor.

--OR--

So, Mr. Sock, did you shoot to kill him?
Yes.
But why?
I didn't want to, but the only way left to stop him was to kill him.


I'm not a lawer or a judge, but I might be a jury member some day.



I am a lawyer and a concealed permit holder. Fortunately, in my community, the authorities and jurors seem to grasp the basic concepts of armed self-defense.

If, God forbid, I am forced into a situation where my only remaining reasonable option to prevent imminent death or incapacitation by an attacker is the use of deadly force, my intention will be solely to stop the attack. I have no desire to harm anyone, much less kill a fellow human being.

But I already made a decision that I will defend my life, if forced to, with deadly force, when I decided to own and carry a firearm for self defense. If an aggressor's death is the tragic result of that, I will have to be be prepared to live with all the psychological, legal and moral consequences of my decision. But I will live.

I understand that the proper and accepted technique is to shoot center of mass, and to keep shooting until the attack STOPS. That's how I have been trained, and that's how I practice, and I pray that's how I will perform if my life ever depends upon it.

I deeply and sincerely pray that it never, ever, comes to that. But my decision is already made. I will live, for myself, for my wife, and for my family. A robber can have my stuff, a carjacker can have my car, a bully can insult me or push me around. If I can avoid using deadly force, I will.

But if I must, I will. Hopefully, the facts will be clear, the aggressor will survive, and my actions will be judged as legally and morally justified.

Jeff