I posted a comment at MetaTalk yesterday morning in a thread where some people were aghast that it had been suggested that a person in a very bad stalker/attacker situation should be prepared to buy and use a gun. It was, in fact, good advice, and some people’s attitudes got up my nose, so I had to break my usual MetaFilter commenting silence to say something. I’m sure I’ll live to regret it. I usually do.

Anyway, when I reread the comment this morning, I realized there is some wisdom there … or at least a point of view worth not letting slip into the ether over at MetaTalk, so I thought I would post it here as well.

The point at which someone should contemplate whether or not they are capable of killing someone is when they are considering buying a gun for self defense. If they absolutely know they would not be able to take another human life under any circumstances, even if it meant their own life or the life of a loved one would be lost, then they should not buy a gun. This is really the point in the gun-owning decision process that most people don’t take enough time to consider whether or not they could “kill or be killed” in a crisis situation. Too many people just buy the gun, even if they aren’t 100% certain that taking a life is something they could do. If someone can’t imagine themselves killing another human, then they should not own a gun.

By the time someone has the need to draw a firearm and point it at another human, they need to know –without a doubt or moment’s hesitation– they are prepared to kill whoever it is they are aiming at. No one should ever draw a firearm and point it at another human being unless they are ready to kill that person and then are capable of proceeding to do so. If someone can’t develop the mindset and conditioning needed to understand that to draw a gun means to pull the trigger and kill another human, they had best leave it in its safe location and never attempt to use it. Or sell it. This isn’t a decision to be made while staring down the barrel at another person. That decision has to be made long before that moment ever comes along. Though someone may get lucky and merely drawing the weapon might scare the attacker away, that isn’t what guns are designed to do. They are also not designed to break legs or arms or in any other way merely maim someone enough to stop them from attacking. They are lethal weapons designed to kill and function best in a crisis situation when used in that manner.

I understand being horrified about the thought of killing someone. I’m horrified about it myself and am a non-aggressive, find-another-way sort of person, and yet, I own a gun. Should I find myself in a situation where someone who has attacked me in the past is stalking me, threatening me, and then attempts to attack me, horrified as I may be about taking someone’s life, I wouldn’t have to think twice about drawing the firearm and pulling the trigger. I already made the decision to do so long before I purchased the gun and found myself in need of lethal force to protect myself. By the time my hand would be on the gun, I would already know it was a “him or me” situation and understand the consequences that will shortly follow.

As far as suggesting to others to buy a gun for self defense, it is inherent in owning a gun for self defense that killing someone may happen at some time in the future. If people are offended by the suggestion that a gun be used, then they should be equally offended by the suggestion to purchase a gun in the first place. Guns are not talismans. They are not lucky rabbit’s feet. They are not useful for scaring away attackers. They are intended for killing, so the suggestion that someone buy a gun for self defense inherently contains within it the implication that if it is bought and ever used, it will kill someone. It seems a little odd to be so vehemently against stating that a gun might need to be used to kill someone in self defense and not equally aghast at the suggestion that someone buy a gun in the first place.