Gun Control & RKBA
In reply to the discussion: Please post reasons why it is OK to kill people in defense of property. [View all]Euromutt
(6,506 posts)In addition to the property being "essential for life" (and that will greatly depend on the circumstances) I think we can make a case for using lethal force if the theft of the property is likely to result in threat to human life that is not imminent. As I've remarked before on this forum, when I was doing national service in the Dutch army, our "violence instruction" for guard duty authorized us to shoot at center mass without warning if the subject appeared to be in the process of stealing weapons, ammunition and/or classified materials, on the basis that misuse of such items as a future data could lead to (increased) loss of life.
As you rightly note, whether a particular good is "essential for life" very much depends on the circumstances. The theft of a case of bottled water or a personal supply of insulin is no big thing in normal circumstances, because those items can be readily replaced. In the middle of natural disaster, on the other hand, with pharmacies closed or not being resupplied and utilities disrupted (which means no potable running water), the theft of such items becomes a lot nastier.