Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelJ
Well this is what comes to mind knowing what little we know about the situation.
Firing at the van:
- van drives off to evade my escalation of the situation- runs over more people. I'm sued and screwed.
or
- solitary shooter in the van- I'm charged with attempted murder and a host of other offenses for each person in the van who wasn't a shooter.
or
- shooter extends the firefight now at my direction, hitting the crowd running around. I'm sued and screwed.
or
-my shot goes in/out and where I don't want it to go. Again with the sued and screwed.
While it's a damned shame that fear of litigation overrides my instinct to help my fellow man, it's a reality we have to face as responsible firearm owners. How will my action affect the situation? We have moments to decide what lawyers get years to argue.
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MichaelJ
Thanks for weighing in with a clearer vision of real-world reactions to (God forbid) such a situation playing out in front of you. An anger-induced reactive shootout could potentially, as you observe, put you and any other nearby IB in front of a target, so to speak. If things were different and you were the intial target, that of course would change everything about your reactions. Self-preservation is a pretty damned strong instinct.
Take care, and everyone have a safe (and heads-up) Fourth.
Dave