Shooting at Virginia Tech

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

two people are packing guns, one is a criminal. Explain how the likelihood of death doesn't increase.

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

The criminal is a coward, and wasn't planning on (and isn't interested in) a fair fight.

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

Unfair and cowardly would be to kill your opponent before they have a chance to shoot - as soon as you see the gun.

Originally Posted by Kitsune

You're really going to have to explain this to me, because I don't understand that statement.

Cowardice is avoiding situations that put you in danger. There's not a whole lot of situations more dangerous than having a gun pointing at you. If you are an armed criminal, the easiest and surest way of avoiding the danger of a gun being pointed at you would be to kill your victim before they have a chance to aim their gun at you. As soon as you see a gun, bang! An armed criminal facing an armed victim would not run away - that would give the victim the opportunity to shoot the criminal as he fled.

A fair fight would be one in which both parties have the same tools. A criminal would not want a fair fight. An easy way to keep the fight unfair would be to eliminate the victim's ability to use a gun - in other words pre-emptively shoot the victim. Again: see a gun and bang!