Could you kill someone?

[psychokillerornotkiller]

I was at a social event where a we were talking about gun crime in America. One woman said she had lived in America and was talking to an American women who had a gun which she said was for self defence. The woman at the social do said she said to her, ' But could you really kill someone with it?' To which the American woman apparently went silent, and the British woman at the social do declared, ' It was like she have never really thought about that!'.

The clear implication of the British woman's argument was that, of course no right minded person could shoot anyone, so there is not point in having a gun.

But I thought, ' I could kill someone. If someone was coming to kill me, and they were fair minded enough to give me time to reach into my bag and retrieve my gun, I would shoot them. And if they were coming for my child I would definitely shoot them. |I might be traumatised afterwards, but I would shoot them.'

I'd always assumed everyone was like me. But the British woman obviously assumes everyone is like her.

So, in genuine curiosity as to find out whether I am an outlying psycho, I thought I would put it to the vote.

YABU - I could never kill anyone
YANBU - I could kill someone.

If it was kill or be killed then yes I think I could.

YANBU- I wouldn't even think twice if they were coming at my child

I have a fairly extensive list of people I could genuinely kill if I could get away with it. If I ever got diagnosed with a terminal illness or something there was one person I had planned to kill right before I went (so prison wouldn’t have made a difference). He ended up dying a horrible death anyway. I’ve read the book ‘confessions of an executioner’ and thought I could do that job.

To protect my family or myself, I would kill.

Yes, I would.

And this thread demonstrates why guns as self defence probably isn't a good idea. When it comes to my child I'd shoot first and ask questions later. Which is probably why I shouldn't have a gun.

Of someone harmed or wanted to.harm my child yes.I think I could .

To defend myself or someone with me, yes, probably.

And this thread demonstrates why guns as self defence probably isn't a good idea

And because no vaguely competent killer is going to give you enough warning that you can retrieve your gun in the first place!

Thank you for your honesty! 😬

I suspect most people don't know how they'd react in a situation that was life or death. Some people who think they'd definitely kill wouldn't and vice versa.

And then of course there are all the people who kill someone by negligence who had no plan to kill someone but did it by e.g. bad driving or not doing their job properly.

I don't think any of us could predict how we'd react in such an extreme situation. And guns create extreme situations. In the unlikely event of someone coming at me with a loaded gun in their hand, I might wish I had one too. If I did, I might also wish I had better reactions and co-ordination. I'd be fucked either way.

No I couldn't and wouldn't kill anyone.

I could kill someone if my family was in danger and feel absolutely no remorse.

My then 13 year old son walked in on a burglar in our house in the dining room. His scream still breaks my heart.

We shut ourselves in the front room, my phone was on charge in other room.

I thought well, there's no point shutting ourselves here hoping we're going to swat off a wasp and baby was upstairs asleep. So I went out, looked grabbed a knife, grabbed phone and called the police.

If he died it would have been in self defence. If he came or tried to come between me and my kids - whilst waving pretty blunt chopping knife around, I could not guarantee where it went.

Anyway coward he was ran away straight away and police had picked him up in 15 minutes. They had no qualms with me getting a knife!

If they were coming for me or my child and it was either them or me/us then I imagine that yes I would. Tbh I think when it's your child then instinct would take over anyway and it wouldn't be a conscious decision. I think almost every parent would do pretty much anything to save their child's life.

Generally in the US, criminals carry guns (it’s one of the reasons that, whilst the majority of Americans are actually in favour of enhanced gun control, fewer are in favour of very heavy restrictions: why would you voluntarily relinquish your own gun when you can be almost certain that those who wish to mug or burglarise you will still have theirs?) so it isn’t really “right minded” in the US to never have thought about whether or how you’d shoot / kill in self defence if put in a threatening situation. I’ve taken a few lessons on gun ranges whilst in Michigan with DH’s family and can confidently say that yes, I could kill somebody if under threat.

This:

It's so hypothetical and unlikely to happen that no-one actually has a clue what they'd do.

They think they know what they'd do but that's discounting shock, adrenaline etc

I don't think I can kill someone. We have been burgled at gun point and I'm very much more the flight than fight person.

easily

Definitely if it was a child being attacked. I’m not a mother but have an inner lioness which would be triggered if I witnessed such a thing. I rage when it comes to those who harm children.

Yes and it wouldn't have to be to protect someone I loved.

I would absolutely kill for political reasons - a Bolsonaro, Orban or Putin - and I'd feel justified given the harm they enact on so many others. I daydream about it sometimes.

I'm not especially proud of this and it's also a reason I'm vehemently anti death penalty.

In theory I'd like to think I'd defend my children, but I think I'd be a bad candidate for it. The guilt would absolutely kill me mentally, in any circumstances. No matter how awful the victim was. I worry about accidently hitting a bird on the road, cannot imagine the horror of accidently killing a human.

This. My defensiveness of my children is absolutely instinctive and I 100% know it would over-ride any rational thought making processes in this instance.

My first instinct at reading the title was no but actually if it was a choice especially for my dc then yes

I’m glad I don’t live in a society where the option to do it exists though. I’d stay as is without the guns in homes.