There is no legal obligation to protect a third party. Be sure you understand the potential consequences before you find yourself in that position.

Because of the media bias against guns, we rarely hear of citizens coming to the aid of others with a firearm. But two situations a couple of years ago brought the issue of dire consequences to the forefront of citizen carry. In February 2005, Mark Wilson, a good guy with a carry license, died trying to stop the rampage of David Arroyo on the courthouse steps in Tyler, Texas. Carrying a Mak-90 7.62x39 rifle and wearing body armor, Arroyo was shot by Wilson's .45 but was undeterred because of his body armor. His returning fire killed Wilson, who had unselfishly tried to save others.

On November 2005, Dominick Maldonado opened fire on shoppers with a Norinco Mak-90 rifle at a shopping mall in Tacoma, Washington. An armed citizen, Brendan McKown, drew his pistol and ordered the gunman to put down his gun. Rather than comply, Maldonado fired four rounds into McKown. The citizen hero survived, but with devastating wounds. At this writing it is not known if he will ever walk again.

Both of these men can only be described as heroes in the truest sense of the word. While we may debate their tactics, they were selfless in their drive to save others. Both paid severe prices for their bravery.

While there is no doubt that we will take those risks for the ones we love, what about for strangers? What rights do we have when protecting third parties? Is there an obligation to do so?

And the most difficult question is, Should we protect others?

GUN CONTROL IS KILLING US

The Virginia Tech shootings occurred shortly before this article went to press. This tragedy runs far deeper than the obvious. The shootings are but one symptom of what is wrong with the mindset and thought processes of all too many people. The second tragedy that day was that there was no one shooting back. Any potential heroes were disarmed by the school's "no guns" policy. Ironically, just last year the Virginia General Assembly failed to pass a bill that would have enabled the carry of guns on campus. School officials hailed the decision by proclaiming that students and faculty "can feel safe" knowing that there are no guns on campus. The reality is that there are guns on campus--guns in the hands of criminals. That is the problem with "gun-free zones": They make the uninformed feel better when, in fact, they create victim-disarmament zones, or what I call "criminal empowerment zones." Just as a burglar will pick a home without a noisy dog, someone bent on human destruction will choose a location where their heinous crimes can be carried out unfettered by the return gunfire of potential victims. That's why shooting rampages don't take place at police stations or gun ranges. Israel solved the problem of school attacks by arming teachers. Hijackings of Israel's EL AL airliners ceased when armed marshals were placed on every flight. The most astonishing tragedy was the lack of survival mindset of the victims. Forensic evidence shows that many victims had wounds consistent with attempts to shield themselves, but there were no defensive wounds on the shooter. That tells us that the victims did not fight back and allowed themselves to be executed. Their absence of survival mindset is a testament to our liberal society's powerful and successful campaign to train us not to think for ourselves, not to act for ourselves and to rely on others for our safety and well-being. The Virginia Tech tragedy is an illustration of liberal ideology at its worst. In this case the consequence of not shooting back was death.--David Kenik

The legal answers are easy, but we are not so lucky in the emotional and moral elements of the issue. Legally, most states allow the use of lethal force in the defense of another as long as the use of force reasonably appears to be justified. However, the laws of every state vary.

A good rule of thumb is to put yourself in the victim's place and use only equal force. Use lethal force only if all elements of ability, opportunity and jeopardy are present. The attacker must actually possess the power to kill or cripple (have a weapon, overwhelming strength, etc.), the attacker must have the opportunity to kill or cripple (close enough to carry out the action without impedance), and the attacker must actually be in the process of attempting to kill or cripple.

In the case of defending a third party, you must be extremely cognizant of the fact that you may not know all of the details of the altercation. The person you are about to protect may actually be the assailant. You would have no way of knowing this unless you were witness to the onset of the proceeding altercation, and perhaps not even then.

If you come across a victim being "mugged by two men," they could, in fact, be two undercover police officers effecting a legal arrest. If you observe a man with a gun running out of a convenience store and another follows yelling, "Stop him; he just shot someone," the running man with the gun may very well be the victim of a robbery seeking help and the person who yelled "Stop him" may be the criminal seeking to create a diversion for extra escape time. Be sure you know all of the facts before using force.