Reply #29: Again,

[gravity556]

would it be better if the senior citizen allowed the criminal to assault her? He did grab a gun and start advancing on her-pretty much fits the bill to make someone fear grevious bodily harm or death. Had he pulled the same shit with a cop, he would have still be shot at.

And why in the fuck does "society's" safety override the safety of the individual citizen? Doesn't the fact that indvidual citizens can protect themselves against deadly threats provide a net benefit to society? Think of the man hours the police would have burned (at substantial cost to taxpayers) trying to track down the assailant. And since the criminal has already decided that he isn't going to play by "society's" rules, isn't the damage he was likely to inflict through petty crimes (stop destroying the desert with your fucking trash). I would say that the net effect is a benefit to society.