i don't think so
I get your point. Nobody should take out their firearm if they don't intend to use it. Same with any weapon but especially a firearm. Its not reasonable to expect others to assume benign intent. I stand corrected.
So I've chewed on this for a bit. Its kind of funny to reply to my own post but I don't want our 2nd amendment defenders to get the wrong idea. I was a bit taken aback by
@doublejj 's Ramboesque description of using bystanders as shields in his scenario of what he would do in a similar situation. I have a lot of respect for JJ and I don't think he said this casually. I'm also convinced that if a person straps a gun on, they are or have contemplated killing another person. So, that's the nub of all this. From what you guys say, if anybody feels threatened by another person, they have the right to shoot them. Florida has this law and its been used to defend exactly this action.
At a much lower level, I've been advocating the simple idea that owning a gun, for the average person, does not make them safer. Its clear that many gun owners think this is wildly ridiculous but study after study bears this truth out. As
@budlover13 said we have a people problem, not a gun problem in response to my pointing out that the accidental gun injuries and death often occurs at home and is due to mishandling of firearms. I think he's right. Leaving guns at home in safe storage is anathema to some.
I don't own a gun. My dad did and he taught me how to shoot. I'm not afraid of one, I just don't think the risk is worth it. Statistics are on my side. Another statistic that gun owners might not like is that they are a shrinking minority. Gun ownership is around 32% in the US and dropping.
So, here we have a video posted by
@Padawanbater2 showing a successful self defense that also could have gone very bad in an instant. Our resident population of gun owners love it. Paddy and I see how close it was to disaster and think that the risk wasn't worth the action. This is our opinion. However, I understand the reasoning behind the gun owner taking this act, I didn't at first but I do now.
From all this discussion, and thanks for having it with me, I'm also forming the opinion that the 2nd amendment is becoming a dinosaur. Guns on the streets don't make people safer. Gun owners won't lock them up. Gun owners won't accept the idea of safety certifications. And finally, developed countries like ours, think Canada, Sweden, Norway, Great Britain, France, Germany, all of which don't allow that hunk of iron to be freely waggled about on a belt or in your pants don't have the same level of gun violence that we do.
I suggest that those that want to maintain the 2nd amendment think carefully about protecting that right through education, training and situation awareness classes. Because you guys have lost me. I no longer support this right.