SuperSaiyanGokuX wrote:

I can agree with this... The soldiers with true problems likely had those problems before enlisting...

Eh, I have to step in on the account that I have a friend with PTSD. Often times, anyone who watches their best friends, whether these are people that have been trained and taught to die for or not...well, die, it sends a person over the edge. Also, War is hell, and all you need to do is ask a veteran that is willing to talk about it to find out.

In my friend's case, I'm fairly certain it wasn't improper upbringing or anything of that nature. He spent two tours in Afghanistan with a 6 month break between those, then 2 months after his second tour he had a 12 month tour to Iraq. While he was on that 3rd tour, a mutual friend of ours was killed by an IED with about a month left in our tour. Now, while he was over there, his unit was attacked, and his unit had 2 soldiers killed and he was wounded with shrapnel*. Fast forward through the remainder of his tour. He gets home, to find out our friend had been killed near the end of his tour. About 3 months later, he was discharged and diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and is now on some government disability plan for the rest of his life due to his shoulder being wrecked and him having some serious issues upstairs.

I know that there's some cases where a nut winds up in the military and goes off, however these cases aren't as prevalent as some might think. And as far as people with PTSD goes, the government is usually more responsible for placing straws than any issues at home. And nearly always the last straw to send a person over the edge.


*- he received a purple heart for his service.

SuperSaiyanGokuX wrote:

Then you're looking at trouble with the law right alongside the idiots who killed your dog. The families of the kids whose knees you shot out can sue you for medical bills and damages, and the sad part is that they have a good chance of winning. To have any right to defend yourself with that kind of weapon, you would have to receive some damage yourself first, since indisputable self defense is pretty much your only ticket out of multi-million dollar lawsuits in this kind of situation.

I think having a gun pointed at you, along with a death threat, gives you the right to use self defense.

Mobius Evalon wrote:

Jeff8500 wrote:

I think having a gun pointed at you, along with a death threat, gives you the right to use self defense.

That's not sufficient to claim self defense for utilisation of deadly force (E.G., a firearm), or even most forms of nonlethal force.

Because I'll telekinetically take the gun out of their hands from a couple feet away. If they were close up, you would have some options, but not from far away, like the story makes it sound like.

EDIT: Nevermind, I must have read the story too fast. Apparently they didn't threaten him until they were trapped,and even then, they didn't point a gun at him with the intent to kill him, disregard that comment.