Posted by Deltaboy: It is a burden I carry because some day I might have to kill someone and I must be ready to do it or I need to drop my CCW and be a sheep.
Anyone may someday have to use force, up to and including deadly force, to defend himself or herself and family. Someone may die as a result.
The aftermath will not be pleasant for anyone. How unpleasant it will be for the defender may have to do with things that are beyond his or her control. And it may well be influenced by his or her own doing, before, during, and after the fact.
There are two reasons why we have stated in the ST&T rules and in the Sticky Library that the phrase in question is among many others of that genre that are not favored here.
The
second reason has to do with the protection of the member who uses it, or who can otherwise be associated with it. The phrase can be and has been used with devastating effect in a court of law.
But that's up to the member.
The
first reason is that what is posted here can have long term effects on the perception of THR and our membership among the public at large and very importantly, on people's opinions about the right to keep and bear arms.
As we have said before, we are in a very real sense ambassadors for responsible firearms ownership to the world at large. That world includes a large number of people who do not support the right to keep and bear arms and who may hold negative opinions of those who own guns, as well as those who believe that the appropriate civilian use of firearms should be limited to the hunting field or the trap range.
Since the topics discussed in ST&T must necessarily encompass the use of deadly force with potentially lethal consequences, it is of paramount importance that what is posted here be always be presented in the most responsible, mature, and thoughtful manner.
"Have a plan to kill them" may be acceptable for a combat soldier in uniform, but it is not acceptable for a civilian or for a peace officer. Nor is it at all palatable to the great majority of the public.
Nor are such witticisms and/or mottos as 'be found here tonight and you'll be found here in the morning'; 'due to the cost of ammuntion there will be no warning shots'; 'if you can read this you're in range'; 'always cheat, always win'; 'I don't care who it is or why, anyone who comes into my house has forfeited his right to live', 'I’ll shoot to
kill'; 'dead men do not tell tales'; 'I don't call 911'; the list is limited only by the imagination.
We all need to think about how our words will be taken before we put them down in indelible electronic ink.
