Quote:Of course I would tell them "I have one working kidney, and I'm not interested in fighting because trauma to that kidney could end my life". If they start taking body shots, you're okay with me using lethal force to defend myself even if they are unarmed?

If the assailant presents a reasonable danger to you (i.e., you reasonably believe that their hit could be strong enough to cause fatal damage), is aware of the situation (or is made aware before throwing a punch aimed at that area) and attempts to hit you there anyway, then I would consider that to be intent to kill and justifiable homicide. If someone walks up and throws a punch at your head or chest, and you then respond with a gun, I would consider that murder.

 

In case you haven't noticed, I put a very high standard on what I would consider justification for taking someone else's life. I only wish others would do the same. "He's bigger than me and threw a punch," is not and should never be justification for responding to a fist with a gun and killing that person.

 

Quote:That's a whole different scenario and a whole different situation.  Again, if a police officer has reason to believe that his or her life is threatened, then deadly force is authorized.

Police officers should held to a different, higher standard. You touched on takedown techniques and hand-to-hand combat training, but suggesting that it could "go out the window" when dealing with an unarmed attacker is patently ridiculous. Do you mean to tell me that in all that training, the instructor never says, "Oh, by the way, here's how you respond if someone reaches for your gun."? If not, that's a problem. If the training is to take out your gun and shoot that unarmed person, then that's an even bigger problem.

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