I’m glad I saw this thread. I think about this tragic incident a lot. Over the past several months, I’ve tried to justify it to myself - I really have. On the other side of the coin, I’ve , also, tried to condemn it too. No matter how many times I go over this, I am unable to build and support a scenario where the shooter’s actions are truly warranted. I keep coming back to the premise that;
‘IF THE SHOOTER HADN’T BEEN CARRYING THAT 10MM, THEN, BOTH MEN WOULD HAVE WALKED OUT OF THE WOODS THAT DAY: UPSET, ANGRY, AND UNHARMED.’
As gunmen, ourselves, we need to be careful whom we choose as our role models and icons, as well as which public incidents we choose to support. Yes, we do need examples of, ‘righteous shoots’ to support and hold up to public review; but, in my considered opinion, the death of Grant Kuenzli is NOT an example of a, ‘righteous shoot’; and the rest of us would be foolish to lend our energies and support to this case.
The other day I received my Florida CCW license; I’ve already been carrying, everyday, for the past 8 years. Now I have two primary carry permits; and I’m licensed to carry in, something like, 25 states. The reason I thought of the Kuenzli homicide, again, the other day is because of the printed literature that the State of Florida sends along with the new CCW permit. After I read it I thought to myself; ‘Wow, if the shooter in the Kuenzli case had been given this information, Grant Kuenzli might, very well, be alive today!’
Here are a few excerpts from the Florida, ‘Questions and Answers’ CCW literature:
1. ‘When can I use my handgun to protect myself?’
Answer: ‘Florida law justifies use of deadly force when you are: Trying to protect yourself or another person from death or serious bodily harm … ’
Real-Life Example Of What NOT* To Do : ‘Two neighbors got into a fight, and one of them tried to hit the other by swinging a garden hose. The neighbor who was being attacked with the hose shot the other in the chest. The court upheld his conviction for aggravated battery with a firearm because an attack with a garden hose is not the kind of violent assault that justifies responding with deadly force.’
2. ‘What if someone uses threatening language to me so that I am afraid for my life or safety?’
Answer: ‘Verbal threats are not enough to justify the use of deadly force. There must be an overt act by the person which indicates that he immediately intends to carry out the threat. The person threatened must reasonably believe that he will be killed or suffer serious bodily harm if he does not immediately take the life of his adversary.’
3. ‘Can’t I protect myself if someone starts hitting me?’
Answer: ‘Even if someone starts a fight with you, you must make every reasonable effort consistent with your own safety to avoid the use of deadly force. Including retreating from someone attacking you. Running away from someone who has insulted or punched you may offend your instincts to uphold your honor; however, as the Second District Court of Appeal has said; ‘The use of deadly force against another human being (instead of running away) is not countenanced by law – even if that force is in response to conduct of human beings who act like animals.’
Real-Life Example Of What NOT* To Do : At a convenience store gas pump, a man got into an argument with other customers who were drinking heavily. Three of them approached the man and beat on him while he stood hunched in the open doorway of his car. Armed with a pocket knife, he resorted to stabbing his attackers, killing one of them.’
‘This man was convicted of manslaughter because he pulled the knife before the attack began. This showed that he anticipated the attack and chose to pull a knife and stand his ground instead of getting in his car and leaving. The court upheld his conviction and contrasted his behavior with the behavior of a man in another case who was relentlessly stalked by his attacker. He kept retreating from his attacker, begging him to leave him alone, and finally he fired a shot into the ground. When his attacker kept coming at him, he fired a second and fatal shot. The court said that, unlike the man at the gas station, the person being pursued had no choice but to use deadly force.’
From the Summary:
2. ‘The amount of force that you use to defend yourself must not be excessive under the circumstances: Never use deadly force in self-defense unless you are afraid that if you don’t, you will be killed or seriously injured. Verbal threats never justify your use of deadly force. … ’ 1.
If the shooter in the Kuenzli homicide had been apprised of these facts, the victim might, very well, be alive today. The case against the shooter is supported by the fact that he didn’t have a mark on him from any of the dogs whom HE ADMITS had retreated at the time that he fired the fatal three shots; and, of course, Grant Kuenzli was, himself, unarmed. In the 60 odd years that I’ve been on this planet, there have been one or two occasions when I’ve gone up to someone and yelled in his face. I’m sure glad, though, that no one ever responded by triple-tapping me, COM!
As gunmen, ourselves, we need much better examples of, ‘righteous shootings’ to put forth on our own behalf. If we throw the weight of our sentiments behind incidents of this befuddled nature, then, we weaken our own cause and risk intellectual defeat by all those who seek (even lust) to disarm us.
REAL MEN DON’T SHOOT HYSTERICAL DOG WALKERS WHO ARE TRYING TO SAVE THEIR POOCHES!
(And clever gunmen that we are we should know better than to get behind and support this kind of hair-trigger behavior.)
* Emphasis added
1. ‘Questions and Answers Pertaining to the use of Deadly Force for Lawful Self-Defense’, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Division of Licensing, Charles H. Bronson, Commissioner. Tallahassee, FL
2. (I told some of you he'd be indicted - didn't I. Now, watch what happens!)
When I warn against "Problem #2", the criminal, civil, social and administrative consequences of using a firearm against a fellow human being, I am told that self-defense shootings are never prosecuted and it would "never happen here."