Very thought provoking thread. Thanks to all who have contributed.
I read and hear on the news that the number of people owing firearms is increasing, as is the number of people that have permits to carry concealed firearms. Yet I don't hear or read of ANY accidental shootings by such people, and in today's anti-gun climate, I'd think such a story would be front page news from coast to coast. That leaves me to conclude that the vast majority of people that choose to carry a concealed firearm do so only after a fair amount of deliberation, training, and practice. All as it should be.
That same perusal of the news media shows why many people are engaging in firearms ownership: the media makes it impossible to ignore random acts of violence in which most of us can picture ourselves being entangled. In my own small community of 86,000, during the last year or so there have been several drive by shootings, running gun battles between gang members, armed robberies involving gunfire, and even a sniping type random murder, all in locations I frequent. Local law enforcement is under staffed and has suffered years of budget cuts. The woods are full of meth labs and pot grows, and these folks are known for shooting first and permanently disappearing their victims. The world is a different and much more dangerous place than Mayberry RFD, much as I wish such was not the case.
Yet even with all this, I have a hard time imagining anyone shooting someone for shouting "Freeze!". Yes, I can see a lot of people dropping to the floor or otherwise running for cover, and people with legally concealed firearms getting ready to use them. But so far, we haven't had any "heros" that saved the day with guns blazing, and from what I've seen of my fellow citizens, it'll likely stay that way. No one I've met at a range or concealed carry class sees defensive use of a firearm as anything but a last resort means of preserving their own life or someone else's in their immediate vicinity. Every one of them sees such a situation as a life changing horror story, and go out of their way to minimize their chances of having something like that happen to them. I think this mind set stems from owning and/or carrying a firearm, because doing so forces consideration of the consequences in a very personal way that is far beyond just reading about gun violence in the media. That may also be why there is so much outrageous "what if" thinking in the media: The majority are not gun owners, have never asked themselves the questions related to defensive use of firearms, and have never pictured the very real consequences of using a firearm in a defensive situation.