It seems to me that the use of deadly force in self-defense consists of two stages. For purposes of clarity, let’s define the second stage first, which is the decision to pull the trigger.
I submit that this second stage decision to pull the trigger is relatively simple and should be made before you get into a lethal-force-decision situation. In fact, you should make it before you decide to own a gun for self-defense. Fundamentally, it breaks down this way:
If (x), then
.
In other words, if you judge a BG is committing or about to commit sexual assault, serious bodily injury, or death against you or someone else (x), then pull the trigger
.
For me, it is illogical to say, If (x)—unless the BG is a child, grandmother, vegan, etc.—then
. If someone is going to commit sexual assault, serious bodily injury, or death against you or someone else, these extraneous factors are irrelevant. You are equally as sexually assaulted, seriously injured, or dead by the hands of an ex-felon as you are by a wild child, insane grandmother, or a nutritionally deprived vegan. If these factors are going to stop you, you are better off financially, legal, and physically by not carrying a weapon.
Now let’s examine the first stage decision:
Is this (x)?
Here is where the difficulty lies. How certain are you that you are seeing (x)? A neighbor standing in his yard and yelling at you that he’s going to kick-in your teeth—a verbal threat—is easily distinguished from that same neighbor storming into your yard, his fists clenched, yelling at you that he’s going to kick-in your teeth—an imminent threat. Unfortunately, many situations are ambiguous or begin one way and turn into something else. You will most likely not have all the data that you would want, and not likely have all the time to respond that you would want. You will need to trust your judgment based on partial information and time pressure, which is much easier said then done.
You can improve your judgment various ways, such as reading incident reports and the experiences of others and then mentally running through them to see where you might have judged the situation to be (x), or to see factors that will help you determine if (x) exists.
You can also run mental games throughout your daily affairs, such as “What if?” scenarios based on the activities around you. And then ask yourself:
Is this (x)?
How your situational judgment answers that question leads to one and only one of the following:
If (x), then
.
or
If not (x), then … does the scenario require simply extra vigilance (a) or a preparatory response (b) such as leaving, moving to a better spot, readying to draw (putting your hand on the grip of your gun), etc.?
To my way of thinking, the first stage decision is the hard part. It does not always lead to the second stage decision. But if it does, the second stage decision should have been already made; an (x) situation always forces the
reaction.
