Well, they say that an armed society is a polite society. The average person will assume that this saying means that everyone will fear each other. I believe the exact opposite is true. A mature individual will understand that he has lethal force at his immediate disposal, and will thus endeavor to avoid trouble when he can. None of us who carry firearms regularly want to shoot someone. OTOH, if it becomes necessary to draw a weapon I believe the vast majority of citizens are even more careful about the application of lethal force than your average police officer is, because there are real consequences for doing so even if you are completely in the right and justified.
> Well, they say that an armed society is a polite society.
Only if you think the other guy is armed. Apparently the off duty cop thought he was the only one with a gun.
Your post needed bumping to the top. Good analysis sir.
“Well, they say that an armed society is a polite society. The average person will assume that this saying means that everyone will fear each other. I believe the exact opposite is true. A mature individual will understand that he has lethal force at his immediate disposal, and will thus endeavor to avoid trouble when he can. None of us who carry firearms regularly want to shoot someone. OTOH, if it becomes necessary to draw a weapon I believe the vast majority of citizens are even more careful about the application of lethal force than your average police officer is, because there are real consequences for doing so even if you are completely in the right and justified.”