"RicodJour" wrote in message
...
On Jan 10, 12:37 pm, Ken wrote:
RicodJour wrote:
On Jan 10, 12:19 pm,
wrote:
wrote in message

Scenario: Wacko in a crowd with a gun starts shooting. People all
around him have guns, too, and they start shooting at the wacko. How
many bystanders get shot by the people in the crowd defending
themselves?
Answer: Too many.
Moral: The wacko with the gun will always "win".

============

This is all theoretical unless you have some idea of how many people in
the
crowd were carrying guns, but did not use them. We already know of at
least
one.

I eagerly await your further information.

Reread what I wrote - I am talking about a generic scenario, not what
happened in Tucson. The generic scenario does not play out - the
shooter will always win - people will die. The more people with guns
that try to stop the shooter, the more people will die as nobody's aim
or reaction is perfect.


It is hard to say just what might happen if a person in the crowd has a
gun while a shooter is methodically picking out targets, but I would
rather have a gun and possibly defend myself than simply be a target.
It also presents the shooter with the need to be defensive rather than
being totally offensive. Your theory brings to mind a question: I
wonder how many more troops might have been killed at Ft. Hood had the
shooter not been confronted?? I guess the answer depends upon how much
ammunition he brought with him.

A wack job that starts shooting in a crowd expects to die. They can't
"lose".

As far as the offensive-defensive thing. The person shooting first
has the advantage, and knowing how to use your sneakers would be more
likely to keep you alive than having a gun. Knowing how to run is a
more valuable skill than knowing how to shoot in such a situation,
particularly if other people start whipping out guns and shooting in
what they think is the right direction.

R

=========

I once pulled a handgun to stop two dogs from making lunch of out of son's
legs. There was no risk to anyone but the two dogs. Unfortunately, the owner
stopped them before I could dispatch them.

You can't generalize. All civilian gun confrontations are theoretical until
they actually happen.