All the ‘rah! rah! defend yourself!’ ignores the issue of the shooter’s psyche after he/she (probably he) shoots someone — and they die.

Ages ago (late 60s / early 70s) I competed with a handgun (Colt 45 ‘Gold Cup’ for anyone who might care). This was in Massachusetts. I had a permit to carry as soon as I turned 21 (before then, a member of my team would carry to/from the range for me.) In MA you cannot leave a firearm unsupervised. Leave it hidden in a locked car, and if it gets stolen, you’re at fault. So on range days, I had the pistol with me. So…

I was leaving an MBTA station, had the pistol (concealed), and on my way to my car I noticed a group of young men grouped around someone on the ground — and they were kicking him. I couldn’t bring myself to ignore it. I got everyone’s attention by working the pistol slide (45s are loud-ish, and the noise is distinctive) and announced that I would shoot anyone not walking away in ten seconds. Lucky for me, it worked. The kid on the ground had painted fingernails. The kid on the ground managed to get up, seemed bloody but OK. In retrospect, I think he was gay — but at the time I had no idea what that was.

I got the shakes afterward, thinking about how I’d have felt if I’d actually shot someone. If I had I might not have killed him (45 throws a heavy, slow, round — designed to knock someone down — and I was loaded with match ammo so even slower). But I probably would have (decent shot but not good enough to try for anything but center of mass)

I’m beyond glad not not have had that happen, but after that reflection on killing someone, I stopped carrying, stopped competing about a year later.