wideym said:
About six months after starting her job and moving into her new apartment a man entered her apartment around 3:00am and cornered her in the bedroom. She pointed the gun at him and he pulled out a knife telling her to drop the gun or he would kill her. She dropped the gun. He robbed, beat, and raped her telling her he would be back.
I asked if the gun malfunctioned and she told me that she "just could not pull the trigger on another human being". She has been through counciling and still has problems. I asked her if she could now after what she had been through and she replied that she still wasn't sure.
Later I asked my sister who has a CCW permit, if she could pull the trigger. She said "Yes, I'm 4'8" 90pounds and wouldn't stand a chance against a man." At least I know my sister doesn't think a gun is a magic talisman and is willing to shoot to protect herself.
Sorry to hear about your friend.
Some people are just incapable of killing another person! It is part of their personality, and probably a lot of what makes then a good person (and, unfortunately, a victim as well).
As a training point, this is a question that every gun owner needs to settle in their mind. It should go beyond just a fleeting thought, and you should really confront the issue... Are
you comfortable with the idea that
you may need to take someone's life to save your life, or that of another person?
Some people can not do this, for a number of different reason that even they may be unable to articulate. But, if you choose to exercise your right to bear arms, you should confront your inner-voice and determine where you stand on the issue!
Believe it or not, there are even some police officers who go on the job with the attitude that "I could never kill someone". I've seen it from a few academy recruits in my career. That is truly appalling to me, because when you
choose to do my job you sign up knowing full well that you may be faced with the situation where you must shoot someone to save an innocent person's life!
Some people can get over this initial knee-jerk opposition to violence, while others can not.
Here is an interesting read if you have a moment, from a very well-respected speaker on this topic. I've attended one of his seminars, and it was quite an experience:
http://www.killology.com/sheep_dog.htm