Going back to some of the original items in this thread, and the possibility of defending yourself with firearms during a "bugout in a devastated city". Here is a news article that provides some food for thought ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12925328

This is a situation in which police officers in New Orleans were convicted of using unecessary force to kill people inside the disaster zone after Hurricane Katrina. Of course, we may never know the exact circumstances of what happened, and what the "victims" were doing to provoke this kind of retaliation. Or possibly, it did involve bad judgment and bigotry by certain police officers. Anyone who has been to New Orleans can tell you that there exist long-standing animosities between some segments of the local population.

The point is ... we don't suddenly operate on a different set of laws - just because we find ourselves in the middle of a major disaster zone. There will be a time for accountability of our actions after everything returns to normal. You would expect that the local police would know the rules for using lethal force better than anybody else - yet the court found in this case that excessive violence was used.

There may be no easy answers when it comes to defense of our lives and property in a serious disaster. But we do need to have a good rationale for our actions.

Pete #2