Don Foreman wrote:
On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 11:04:54 GMT, Gunner
wrote:

On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 02:35:58 -0500, Don Foreman
wrote:


Gunfights are for cops and soldiers, not civilians.


Tell that to the criminals that put you in a gun fight.

Sigh.

The difference is that cops (even if hired hep) and soldiers are
expected to confront and enagage as a matter of sworn duty. A
soldier's job is to kill the enemy. A cop's job is to protect us and
to stop lawbreakers, using such force as is necessary. Civilians are
legally prohibited from taking armed initiative; they may only
defend themselves against clear and present grave mortal danger. I
differentiate cops from civilians only because cops have slightly
different rules of engagement e.g. they may fire to protect others.

A civilian who might find himself in a situation where avoidance of
such a situation is not possible should be proficient enough to
have some chance of surviving it without injuring non-participants.
Simply owning a gun is not nearly enough.

I don't recall if one of your rules for gunfights was to avoid them
when at all possible, but I'm pretty sure one of them was something
like: "if it can't be avoided, get it over with as quickly as
possible."

One good way to avoid finding oneself in such a situation is to avoid
venues where that is likely. Some can't do that because of where they
live or work, but most of us can most of the time.

I support the notion that civilians should retain the right to be
armed if they choose to be. I think advocates could do a lot better
job of pointing out that choosing to be armed carries the
responsibility of gaining and maintaining proficiency, responsible
safety practice, and knowledge of applicable law.

Well Don, you're a smart fella ok, but:

A cop's job is to protect us and to stop lawbreakers, using such force
as is necessary.

tells me you haven't thought this through. I'd suggest you don't hold
your breath while you wait for the police to "protect" you in
situations where a civilian shootout (with yourself involved) is about
to happen. The police have made it very clear this is NOT their
responsibility and that they bear no legal onus for not doing so.
Their job and responsibility is to investigate the crime and to
apprehend the perp.

If this type of situation should arise it's YOUR responsibility to
protect yourself and your loved ones either at home or in public. You
can not and should not depend on police for personal protection.

dennis
in nca