DO I HAVE TO?

As a Self-Defense Act (SDA) Handgun Instructor in the State of Oklahoma, I teach several classes per year. The SDA Class is required by Oklahoma, in order to obtain a State issued Handgun Permit, previously known as a Concealed Carry Permit.  When teaching a class, prior to getting into the State Statues for Deadly Defense, I have a slide which simply states, “Do I Have To?”.

In Oklahoma, Title 21: 1289.25, Physical or Deadly Force Against an Intruder, states “The legislature hereby recognizes that the citizens of the State of Oklahoma have a right to expect absolute safety within their own homes. A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if:
The person against whom the defensive force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to remove another against the will of that person from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle and the person who uses defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred.”

While there are three (3) Exceptions to this clause, they aren’t relevant to this post.  

I tell students, in Oklahoma, "We have almost made it “easy” to kill people." Plain and simple, attempt to or come into our homes, by force and un-welcomed, and we can kill you. This typically starts a lengthy discussion with lots of questions.  Such as: 
“Do I have to warn them?”  
“Do I have to drag them inside?” 
“Can I shoot through the door?” 
“Does this include my yard?” and many others. 

After talking for a while and doing my best to address every question, I remind every class, we are usually talking about personal belongings. I ask them, “Is your television really worth taking a life?”.  Stunned silence in most classes. After moving along and going over Oklahoma’s Stand Your Ground law, Title 21: 1289.25 D, my presentation echoes the earlier slide, “Do I Have To?”  

My point of this post is that in a world which is becoming more and more angry and violent, at what point do we pause and think? Pausing and thinking is a better option before evilness has entered your immediate world. In most dynamic situations, there is no time to "pause", it happens too fast. You always have to think but that thought needs to be premeditated with training and preparedness. I explain to students, personally, I’m not going to kill you over a television.  I can go to the local electronics store and buy a new television; I can’t buy another “you”.  China is not making “you’s” yet. I also go on to explain that should the intruder decide to drop the television and come at me or my family, they have changed the dynamics of our brief interaction and I have no problem in, as a famous chef said, “Kicking it up a notch”!  But they have made that decision, not me.

I will close this out with one last point. Should you choose to use your weapon against anyone, whether you kill them or not, you will be a different person afterwards. It will change you.  That I can promise. 
The decision comes down to that simple four-word question posted on two of my slides, 
<center>“DO I HAVE TO?”</center>