With immunity to civil and criminal prosecution I would help out. So, when lawmakers add immunity for Good Samaritans to existing defense laws, count me in. Otherwise, I am out the back door.

If I were sitting in a classroom and someone entered with a gun I am blasting away. What is the difference? I can most likely retreat in a store such as Wal-Mart where as in a classroom I am stuck and the person is a direct threat. Outside the home you have a duty to retreat and be a reluctant participant.

To win a gun fight you have to not only stop the threat but avoid court. Anyone remember the Duke Lacrosse circus? Think you would get a fair shake in Ramsey or Hennepin County?

Here is my opinion on defense of others (as in not family):

If I live in a state that has a "shall issue" permit law, people with a concern for personal safety will get a permit and carry a gun, as is their right. Anyone that makes the choice / personal decision to not get a permit and not carry a gun obviously either has no concern for personal safety or is unwilling to defend themselves should a threat arise.

So, why should I be more concerned for another person's life than they are for their own?

In MN people can protect themselves and if they choose not to it's not my job nor will I risk my family’s financial future and wellbeing to protect someone that chose not to protect themselves.

My firearm and permit is for personal protection. Law Enforcement officers can enforce the law once it has been broken!

Very nicely said! The sheeple made a choice... Now live (or die) with your choice.

Mostly-

There are some interesting factors involved in an active shooter scenario -

How many shooters are there? Hard to say (here is the kicker - you are there with your gun after neutralizing the perp - cops show up and shoot you - bad deal.) Cops will always assume that there is more than one shooter until proven otherwise.

How far out are the police? - also hard to say

Cops are coming in hard and fast with an active shooter. Bad deal if you are the lone good guy with a gun in your hand and they get there.

Im out the closest door with whoever I happen to have with me.

Well since we are playing the what if game, what if it were an Elementary School Playground being shot up? None of the children are yours but some nutcase(s) are shooting down kids.

What do you do in that case, how does that fit into your voluntary victims theory.

As I said there are too many varibles for these scenarios to be valid.

In the above scenario I would intervene, probably at the potential cost of my own life because I know that I could not look in the mirror in the morning if I did nothing to stop the slaughter of innocent children whether they were my kids or not. What about a group of senior citizens, when is it a valid choice to intervene?

I still maintain that until it is happening to you speculation is worthless, they are entertaining to participate in though.

Until I am in the prescribed situation, I cannot honestly predict how I am going to react. There are just too many variables and unless the route to escape is not a option, there is no way I can say what I am going to do.

A funny thing happened when I got my permit to carry a handgun: I didn't feel safer. In fact, I feel like I'm an even bigger threat to myself and others. Why? Because I have almost no idea what to do with this thing in a crisis. I can take it apart and put it back together again, and I can put most of my shots through the center of a paper target at 7 yards.

BFD.

I have never served in the military or in law enforcement, I am not a lawyer, and I have never been the victim of a violent attack. I'm a happy idiot carrying a deadly weapon in public. When the spaghetti hits the fan (and it will) I'll be forced to make some big decisions for the very first time. I need help.

That's why I joined this forum. Many of the contributors have the real-life experience that I lack. Eventually, I will probably invest some time and money in tactical training. Meanwhile, I have a zillion WHAT IF? questions about armed self defense. And discussion of these scenarios is a critical part of my education.

That's easy enough to change

Seriously... I have been doing some retrospective thinking lately. Do my actions correspond with my beliefs? Right now I'm thinking about the Air Force.

Anyway, Wish me luck

If I were thirty years younger, the Armed Forces might let me in.

I hope you find what you're looking for.

You may not like it (or segments of it) but it will change you.........a change for the better usually. You grow up in a hurry.

Think it through as best you can and make the decision. I don't think it will hurt you.

Good luck

The old adage is that you get out of the military what you put into it.

I would not change any part of my service, it is an honorable thing to do, teaches you things you cannot learn anywhere else and you will meet some incredible people.

Good Luck.

I hate to tell you this but you now know about the same amount as the guys who fought WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam. Small unit tactics are one thing where you have a team, but solo combat tactics training is a new thing.

I also want to point out that any training is only a collection of tools, whether you, I or anyone else can effectively employ those tools when the situation becomes dire is the question. The military makes the point that you train the way you fight and fight the way you train but where do we have access to a live fire range.

If you do not participate in the action shooting sports (USPSA, IDPA etc) you might want to consider trying those, they provide some level of stress and decision making.

Good Luck

Save up some money and get yourself to Front Sight - or take a calss here locally from Final OPtion

IDPA is a fun game and there are game elements to it - but it teaches multiple engagement from positions - cover - concealment - knealing standing - there are no movers - you can reload on the move - but not shoot.

It is a fun game and there are some good lessons there.

Next time that I go to the range I will invite you to come- kleep in mind that I am in no way the best shooter out there - I think that I can do pretty well when I need to. I have had a ton of training and I can teach some of the advanced materials pretty effectively.

jac714: Good points --- thanks for that perspective.

Pinnacle: I would be grateful for some mentoring.

In the meantime, I have some homework: IDPA, Front Sight, and Final Option.

Don't forget ipsc ruleS