Besides being stupid, are "warning shots" de-facto reckless discharges?

[The Mouth]

5. Yes

As you state: " Unless you reasonably believe the situation merits the death of the person threatening you, you should not pull out a firearm."

Perhaps reasonable people can disagree over the very principle of lethal force used for self-defense (I support it, I know people I admire who would prefer to be robbed, beaten, raped or killed before taking another life) but never ever pull a gun unless it's a matter of life and death an one is prepared to use it to terminate the threat.