General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Retired police captain kills texter in theater during movie trailer [View all]spin
(17,493 posts)unless I am attacked by an individual who wants to put me in the hospital for an extended stay or six feet under and is armed or much larger and younger than I am. In my state I have every right to defend myself in such a situation using lethal force if necessary to stop the attack.
I'm not a cop or a vigilante and I don't go looking for trouble. The last thing I ever hope to ever do is to shoot another person.
An overwhelming number of those who legally carry have the same attitude as I do. Of course there are a few exceptions who misuse their firearms and make national headlines. Rarely mentioned, except at the local level, are the many incidents where a legally armed citizen is able to stop an attack. In most cases no shots are fired. The bad guy runs when he realizes his victim is armed.
I realize that it is great fun to stereotype citizens who legally carry weapons as bloodthirsty killers looking for an opportunity to blow someone away. Fortunately this is far from the truth or we would see numerous shootings involving those with a carry permit on a daily basis. In Florida alone there are over 1,000,000 residents with a concealed weapons permit.