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What would you do in this situation:
You are a legally armed person. You stop at a convenience store for gas. You pump gas and go in to pay for it. You had not noticed a couple of teenagers off to the side of the parking lot, but they were there. They had guns. After you enter the store, they walk toward the front door a few paces behind you, and when you see the look on the clerk's face you turn toward the glass door and see what she sees... these two punks with guns in their hands approaching the the store's glass doors. You can see them clearly through the windows which make up the entire front wall of the store. There is another fellow at the gas pumps, behind the teenagers, but not directly behind them, and you do not want to wait for the youths to actually enter the store before you take action...
... so what do you do?
Oh, and if it matters, you are are a middle-aged white (Caucasian) male, trained in gun safety and a good shot. The youths are black (African-American). This takes place in a county in the metro Atlanta area that is mostly white, but with a significant hispanic population and a smaller number of African-Americans. These guys are not wearing masks, and they are not wearing any body armor-- it's a hot summer afternoon.
I do not know what kind of guns they have. Semi-auto pistols, revolvers, long guns, etc. Does it matter? If it would matter to you, please explain why. Let's say that it looks like one of them has a large-caliber revolver, maybe a .357 or .44 with a 6" barrell, and the other has a medium-sized semi-automatic, of a make and model that you do not immediately recognize.
After a few of us have commented about what we may have done under such circumstances, I will cite a court case involving the guy who WAS faced with exactly this situation, and we will see the choice he made and the result of it.
You are a legally armed person. You stop at a convenience store for gas. You pump gas and go in to pay for it. You had not noticed a couple of teenagers off to the side of the parking lot, but they were there. They had guns. After you enter the store, they walk toward the front door a few paces behind you, and when you see the look on the clerk's face you turn toward the glass door and see what she sees... these two punks with guns in their hands approaching the the store's glass doors. You can see them clearly through the windows which make up the entire front wall of the store. There is another fellow at the gas pumps, behind the teenagers, but not directly behind them, and you do not want to wait for the youths to actually enter the store before you take action...
... so what do you do?
Oh, and if it matters, you are are a middle-aged white (Caucasian) male, trained in gun safety and a good shot. The youths are black (African-American). This takes place in a county in the metro Atlanta area that is mostly white, but with a significant hispanic population and a smaller number of African-Americans. These guys are not wearing masks, and they are not wearing any body armor-- it's a hot summer afternoon.
I do not know what kind of guns they have. Semi-auto pistols, revolvers, long guns, etc. Does it matter? If it would matter to you, please explain why. Let's say that it looks like one of them has a large-caliber revolver, maybe a .357 or .44 with a 6" barrell, and the other has a medium-sized semi-automatic, of a make and model that you do not immediately recognize.
After a few of us have commented about what we may have done under such circumstances, I will cite a court case involving the guy who WAS faced with exactly this situation, and we will see the choice he made and the result of it.