In the movie “The Shootist,” John Wayne does some backyard shooting with the teenage son of the boarding house owner. They both have similar accuracy and the kid proclaims that his group is almost as good as Wayne’s. The kid then asks how it is that Wayne has killed so many men. Wayne explains that practice is very different than a gunfight. First – no one is shooting back. Second – he explains that most men aren’t “Willing” – they hesitate at the critical moment - he won’t.
Have you ever thought about the need to defend your family? Are you Willing? Willing to take a life to protect your loved ones? Barring collapse of law enforcement and the justice system – use of lethal force for self-defense will be judged based on state law. I am not a lawyer and not giving legal advice (you should review your state laws with a qualified legal professional). Individual states will use different language but generally allow “justifiable homicide” only if there is an “…immediate, otherwise unavoidable threat of death or great bodily harm to an innocent person.” (wording and definitions below from the Massad Ayoob MAG 40 course). Immediate means right now – not based on a past threat. Unavoidable means you could not, in complete safety, escape the need to use lethal force. An innocent person is one who did not start or escalate the conflict. Three criteria are generally used to determine if the threat was real. (1) The attacker had the ability to harm you – with a weapon, superior strength, or multiple assailants. (2) The attacker had the opportunity to harm you – meaning they were close enough to use a weapon or physical force. (3) The attacker placed you in jeopardy – where their words or actions would cause a reasonable person to believe they would be killed or grievously injured. Also note that in almost every state, you cannot use lethal force to protect property – except in the case of arson which is considered a deadly threat.
Hopefully you can wrap your head around using lethal force if you or your loved ones are faced with the above situation. But what happens when there is no option to hunker down and call 911? What happens in a crisis when losing your resources may not result in immediate death but is life threatening in the long term? There are no legal criteria or “right” answers. You will need to decide what the situation and your moral compass deem the best solution. Shooting anyone who steps foot on your property is probably an overreaction. On the other hand, the situation changes if they display weapons or clearly have hostile intent. Similar scenarios can be found in fictional accounts of a social collapse. These are often termed WROL (Without Rule Of Law) or SHTF (Shit Hits The Fan) or TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It). The main characters are rarely held accountable for their actions. In the real world, accountability is more likely – by other members of your team, or the local community, or a reconstituted legal system. It would be wise to think through the various scenarios you might encounter and decide what you believe to be a justifiable response. You should be able to articulate why you made this selection and test how it stands up in a discussion with like-minded friends and allies.
You may have determined that you are “willing” to use lethal force under the right circumstances but other members of your team or community may not share that position. Some people cannot imagine taking a life under any circumstances. In spite of this, they may be valuable members of your team for any number of reasons related to family, skills or work ethic. They should still be trained with firearms but not placed in primary defensive positions. They can serve as the last line of defense for non-combatants (children, elderly, injured) in the house. Many will rise to the occasion if necessary to protect their children / family.
You can find much more in my book “Thriving in Times of Chaos” available on Amazon. It provides time-phased actions to become more sustainable in any location along with links to additional information and useful products. A more complete description of the book along with a PDF version are available on my website.
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