Sign up for the OV Daily Newsletter
OV Social
Sign up for the OV Daily Newsletter
© 2008-2012 Opposing Views, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Opposing Views, Inc. and its affiliates are not responsible for the content posted on thie website. Please view full disclaimer under Terms.
You have the right to live, and you have the right to defend yourself and others. But what gives you the right to take another's life, unless in the most dire matter.
Personally I define "most dire" in much the same way the law does: a situation where it would be reasonable for a person to assume that the actions of an attacker may lead to death or serious personal injury. In such a situation, I find it hard to believe that anyone would argue that deadly force is not justified.
So as a gun holder, you're ready to take the life of anybody who poses a serious threat to you and yours. You're willing to take their life into your judgment. And you believe that your judgment is clear and as morally and ethically correct as possible?
I did not pose the question as a negative. I ask in all seriousness if others are ready to make a deisicion like that. When someone becomes a threat to the people I care about, their putting themselves on the line.
That is a question that can be answered hypothetically and theoretically all day, but only truly when the time comes. I hope it never does for me, but in my mind I am on the same page as you. You mess with mine and you get what's coming to you.
I temper that statement though with conversations that I have had with folks who have had to take the life of another in defense of their life or the life of a loved one. All of them have problems afterward: nightmares, panic attacks, depression , etc. All of them question whether or not it could have ended any differently, even when they consistently come up with the same answer: no.
It is not a decision taken lightly by any serious gun owner, myself included. But I sincerely believe I would lose a lot more sleep if I knew that I could have defended a loved one and didn't take the steps necessary, so I carry because I love them.