Given the Miami Herald, it won't be an intelligent debate.

Ditto that.

The polarizing "debate" has been taken to a fever pitch by maleficent ideologues who are agitating--quite effectively, I might add--a bloc of Obama voters. Following is a simple, logical analysis (apologies for length, but I think it's relevant, & somebody has to say it).

Deadly force is a last resort. A responsible gun owner NEVER escalates a situation. If I am safe & no one else is in imminent danger, I do nothing to provoke a conflict. Only when confronted by a direct threat (to myself or another) does deadly force even become an option--& even then, it's a last option UNLESS a situation develops so quickly there is no other feasible option.

As long as there are other options & I have time to evaluate the situation, it is incumbent upon me to take all other available options first. Those options are (in order) IF POSSIBLE: (1) Exit; (2) Retreat; (3) Stay calm where I am; (4) Take action.

If there is a reasonable chance of the threat exiting without causing lasting harm, I give it the opportunity to leave. If it is clear violence is inevitable, I weigh my options. If action will make the situation worse, I do not act. If action may endanger another in the process of confronting the threat, I do not act. If I can neutralize the threat with less than deadly force, my weapon stays holstered (or is passed to someone I trust).

My weapon stays holstered until I can reasonably stop the threat with little (in certain extreme situations, reasonable) risk of harming innocents.

This is where some will disagree with me, but my personal position is that even if I have to take a bullet, if defensive action increases danger to others--I must not act.
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Race is irrelevant (outside of those who are obsessed with making it to be an election issue). IMO, if an armed person leaves a point of safety to confront someone in public who is violating no laws, he is not "standing ground"--he left "his ground" & is responsible for causing what follows. He is as much at fault as if he had fired his weapon without provocation.

If you are unarmed, doing nothing illegal, & you are confronted/detained by a stranger, do you not have the right to "stand your ground" as well?

IMO, those laws are too ambiguous. That is what happens when an advocacy group works with government. It's like the monotone harmonizing with the tone deaf.

Hey T
Thank you for a thoughtful response. I can't imagine a REASONABLE opposing view.

I was interested in doing an illustration that reflected the scary nature of irresponsible gun ownership.

JOHN:

You certainly succeeded. I hoped my bit would be complementary to your illustration (while illustrating a second point).

Ahhh! I see T has had training. Good! He wasn't in my class but who ever taught him made it stick. Good Job!

Anyone who purchases a weapon, thinking that's the end of it is an idiot!

There were at least 5 steps to take BEFORE even thinking about which weapon to purchase.

Unfortunately there are those who forget that when you exercise a RIGHT, there are certain RESPONSIBILITIES that go along with it.

I think the whole angle of the press here is to plant the seeds of riots in the late summer so that blacks will turn out in droves in the November election.

They've already pushed the meme that if you criticize Obama you must be racist.

COWBOY:

Taught, not trained, by my father. Additionally informed by a diverse range of old dead guys.

GF & DR. B:

DITTO DITTO DITTO DITTO DITTO

ALL:

One thing I dislike about commenting on blogs is the inability to edit (combined with time restraints). Several small grammar goofs I'd like to fix, but one glaring mistake (corrected here):

My weapon stays holstered until I can reasonably stop the threat with little (in certain extreme situations, reasonably avoidable) risk of harming innocents.

Hey GF -

You said -

"Anyone who purchases a weapon, thinking that's the end of it is an idiot!

There were at least 5 steps to take BEFORE even thinking about which weapon to purchase."

I'm thinking of learning to shoot a handgun (I have a background in rifles and shotguns), and then may buy one if I enjoy shooting sports. In no way do I want to do concealed carry, although I may want to someday use it for self-defense if necessary if the future completely craps out.

So where does one start?