Situational for me. At church, yes. In a setting where there are young people, that are defenseless, yup. Always, my immediate family is priority. Close friends next. Now, I would aid others, on a case by case basis.
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Very good point @45IPAC I forgot about that. At church yes running towards the threat 100% of the time
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I agree here. After the dust settles, you are holding a gun and everyone is still running and hiding only remembering that you (the sheepdog) is holding a gun in their hand. Although, I would definitely do it, as all others have explained, for family and close known individuals. The laws in every state have changed so much in the past thirty years that this bothers me. We are supposed to be willing to defend others, but now, I may just walk away from the situation. This has happened in many occasions here in the so called “Gunshine State” of Florida. Not good.
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Sad isn’t it?
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Aww Nawww Bruh!
The First Law Of Nature is…
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To procreate…???
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This is the second one 
Obvious priority inversion…
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I definitely stay with the original “The first law of nature” 
The ultimate shark tank question. Are you willing to jump into a shark tank for it? Are you willing to go to jail for it? Lord knows it could happen. Then you have to ask yourself, did I go after them or where they coming specifically at me? This is the aggressive action and you could be considered guilty of murder since, escape and evade was not utilized and it would not be a self-defense situation. Since taking a life in a self-defense situation has a few requirements such as, 1. Did you at first try to avoid the situation? If you knew there was a threat, why did you put yourself or others in that situation? 2. Did you try to or have the ability to escape? If you did not try to escape when you had the chance, are you being aggressive? 3. Did you have a less deadly force to stop the threat? Did you try to de-escalate the situation? Do you really have to stop a threat by ending their life? 4. Were you in fear for your life or the lives of those around you? With no other option available and no way out of it? Remember, think like a lawyer when you deal with these ideas because, it is what will be looked at by the police and the prosecuting attorney.
No matter how you slice the situation these four rules should apply. Good intentions has put people in their grave or in jail, My worse fear would be being mistaken for the bad guy or shooting the wrong person.
A person running through the mall with a AR -15. You shoot and stop the threat to find out it was a LEO going to an emergency call. That was just a food for thought . No extra fees will be charged for that one.
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I’ve seen enough Looney Tunes to know that sheepdogs only put their life on the line when they’re clocked in.
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I thought that way on a constant basis when overseas… and much of the time in the US… especially after the 1990 time frame…
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I don’t think there would be a big problem with the police and prosecutors concerning a mass shooter… its the self-defense part that concerns me…
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My first priority is the safety of my family. Second priority is getting home safely so I can continue to protect and provide for my family. But, it would be hard to walk away from a situation where obviously innocent people were being hurt and I thought there was a chance I could do something about it.
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My natural instinct, honed by ten years of police work, is to intervene whenever I see someone using threats or violence to control people. But, as my wife often tells me when I’m complaining about discourteous drivers, “You’re not a police officer anymore.”
I need to more carefully weigh the options. I am not required to intervene as a citizen and will only do so if the range of negative consequences are insignificant when compared to the dangers of not acting.
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Yeah, I remember a lot of people talking real tough on the internet and radio about the Parkland deputy, but very few of us have ever been in a similar situation to know how we’d respond in a similar situation. I like to think I would,* but I pray I’ll never have to find out.
*I do recall an incident where I dropped my son off at school and saw what I thought was a man sneaking around to the back door with a rifle case. My reaction was about 6 seconds of complete tunnel vision as I tried to validate what I was looking at. Luckily, it turned out to be a teacher setting up some equipment on the playground, but that mere uncertainty could have cost lives if something nefarious had been in progress.
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A person can imagine their responses to a situation" IF" they were there but, lets be real, I know that if I had a chance to save lives I would and I would do so willingly. Three targets in a bank with A.K.s? This is what training has been for. Remembering not only that my actions reflect upon me but if improperly performed others will be killed or hurt too! All in all, it is a choice, an evaluation of events that lead you to a conclusion.
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Without getting into detail, first I’m no an internet hero. A hundred years ago I had to use my issued sidearm in defense of others, ( V.I.P.s/ Dignitaries, etc ) during a serious breach of security and possibly a bombing, within in the 7 seconds it took to realize what the breach was and what the target was and the “repel boarders” order I issued, to the drop of the hammer, it wasn’t so much tunnel vision (unless you consider my time warp, a form of tunnel vision), everything went to very slow motion, so much so, I could see the bullet leave the muzzle, (the muzzle flash lasted 5 seconds) fly past the civilians and military people literally FROZEN in the way, some who ducked and some that parted like the Red Sea and watch the round hit! ( No life lost, just an injury I will NEVER be forgiven for, I was forgiven for doing my job, I don’t want to say I was just following orders, to some that’s scary ). I did exactly as trained!
During that point in my life, I was invincible, except for the fact that I was wrong in my assessment of the perpetrator. It happened to be a chief, in civilian clothing with a briefcase in hand, moving against all standing orders and my orders that particular morning!
Most importantly who failed to follow my orders. A sentries orders!
People who know me, know, that if I screamed your name right now, you could hear me! I stopped an entire mall from moving with just my voice when my wife went missing! I have an extremely booming voice and an attitude to match when it comes to my life, my family and my friends, and if you’re lucky enough to be by my side when the SHTF.
So, in hindsight, to answer your question, would I risk my life, I just might! The protection of innocents is not against the laws of nature, period!
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I’ll cross that bridge when I find it.
In the meantime, I have my “circle” to worry about: wife, kids, mom, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews.
Great Points!
Please keep challenging us to think things through. We need that.
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