Full disclosure, I’m a Brit who grew up and lived in the UK. When I was 36 – in 2008 – I moved to the US. I remember when legislation, in the UK was passed (1997), that severely restricted who could own a firearm and that instituted relatively harsh penalties for illegal ownership (even if the firearm wasn’t used in a crime) N.B., this didn’t result in an increase in crime, and it probably had little effect on the fall in the crime-rate that happened subsequently. I served in the military so I’m familiar and comfortable around firearms. I’m not anti-second amendment rights but I believe that with any right comes certain responsibilities e.g., I believe in freedom of speech, but I think that certain things people say – which may incite violence - are irresponsible, whether the person has a “legal” right to say them or not etc. I share the same view with firearms – if you decide to own one because you have the legal right to do so, you should be responsible in your ownership, that may go beyond your current “legal” requirements, as it can be hard to fully legislate against bad decisions – a person (in certain states) may have the “right” to stand their ground but this doesn’t mean that this should always be exercised or be seen/adopted as a default behavior.

Whether you choose to exercise that right involves a decision, and decisions have consequences, and these sometimes may conflict with our original intentions e.g., you may decide to purchase a firearm with the goal/aim of protecting your family, and in a certain public-setting you (unwisely) decide – for whatever reason – to draw and fire it. As a consequence, your weapon is confiscated, and you have to serve a custodial sentence. Who and what now protects your family? Actions often have both short-term and long-term consequences and evaluating risk should consider both. This often involves thinking about things ahead of time and forming and evaluating strategies and ways of operating that don’t require you to have to think in the moment when you are under stress and duress, and your decision-making abilities impaired. It is also important to recognize that a firearm is a tool and not a solution, and certainly not a universal one that is appropriate for all situations e.g., recognizing and evaluating a threat is important especially when most “home invasions” involve a family member “breaking” into a house because they have forgotten a key. Simply shooting an unknown/unidentifiable person climbing through a window at night may see you fatally shooting your own child. These are things, along with many more, that a responsible firearms owner needs to consider.

                A firearm is designed with one purpose in mind which is to deliver lethal force. If you are the owner of a firearm, or thinking of becoming one, make sure that you are comfortable with taking another person’s life. It may seem crazy, but I have known people who joined the army – where society, under certain conditions gives you a special dispensation to kill – realize during the training that they don’t possess the personality to do so, and there is no shame in this. It takes a special kind of courage to realize and then admit to yourself and others that you don’t have this capacity, after starting a career path where this is more than just a possibility. Drawing a firearm isn’t something that should be taken lightly. There is only one reason where society accepts that you are entitled to do so, and gives you the dispensation to, and that is when you believe that lethal force is necessary. A firearm shouldn’t be drawn as a threat to discourage someone from acting in a certain way, it should only be drawn when your life – or possibly the life of someone else – is at risk. This is really a fraction of all aggressive and violent incidents. Learning how to de-escalate social interactions that have gone wrong will help you deal with more types of aggression and potential violence than those that require lethal force. Learning simple self-defense skills and techniques such as how to deal with pushes, wrist and clothing grabs will be applicable to far more situations than those that require you to use deadly force etc. However, if you aren’t equipped with the knowledge and skills to do so but you carry a firearm what is your solution to such situations going to be? As I stated earlier, I don’t have an issue with second amendment rights per-se, however if you are going to be a responsible firearms owner, I would make the argument that, you shouldn’t have this as your only tool and solution for dealing with aggression and violence. If your reason for owning a firearm is safety and security, put some resources into learning how to deal with the types of aggression and violence that don’t require lethal force.

                Also, undergo training in the use of a firearm in the contexts in which you may have to use it. Range time is a “start”. Becoming a proficient shot in a sterile, controlled environment, is a beginning but it shouldn’t be the end of your training. At some point you will want to start working through scenarios that test your decision making, your ability to identify a threat, to work and perform under stress and duress. You should also learn how to protect and retain your weapon when involved in a violent encounter; most violence happens face-to-face, and at close range, often quickly getting in to grappling range and if you don’t know how to keep your weapon secure you may find yourself having it turned on you – working and operating a weapon carries liabilities. If you’re not prepared to devote the time and effort in this direction I question your level of responsibility as a firearms owner. Understand what making a claim of self-defense with a firearm entails, and the various things you need to demonstrate were in place when you decided to draw your weapon e.g., were you actually in imminent danger, was the threat to your life a credible one etc. You may have to convince a jury of your peers that at the moment you drew your weapon you had every reason to believe that your life was in danger; feeling “frightened” is unlikely to be convincing. You should also understand when you might lose the right to self-defense, and your assailant gains it, even if they “started” the altercation e.g., if someone rugby tackled you to the ground, at that moment you have the right to claim “self-defense”, however if you reverse the position, so you are now on top of them, and they are in imminent danger, not you, you might lose that right etc.

 If you believe that owning a “firearm” is a quick fix for all of your safety and security needs, you may be putting yourself and others at risk, which could result in serious and long-term consequences. Just because you have a right, doesn’t mean that you should exercise it irresponsibly.