One of the biggest questions gun owners must ask themselves is if they would be willing to use deadly force. Even if our own life, or the lives of others, is in danger of being lost some of us can not bring ourselves to cause harm to anyone. This question should be thought about and even wrestled with before we decide to carry. It is a personal choice. Any decision we make has potentially long reaching consequences. For me, this question was answered by the following experience.
When one of my daughters was 2 years old, she came to me with a small sore on her thumb. We couldn’t figure out what had caused it. She had just been sitting in our basement media room watching tv. A quick kiss and a band aid seemed to do the trick and after a bit we tucked her into bed.
I thank the Lord everyday that I went back to that basement room and tidied up. I picked up a blanket and folded it. After I did so, a poisonous snake dropped out of its folds as my son was carrying it back up stairs.
As my brain recognized what it was, all the cogs began to move and I realized that my little one had been bitten by this snake. My first response was surprisingly a firm certainty of what to do. I had to kill that snake. My son was not too far from it. Our basement is unfinished and if I let it get away it might bite someone else.
I looked around for something close at hand. I couldn’t walk away to look for something. The snake might get away. I grabbed a 2 foot leftover piece of a 2×4 stud. and whacked the snake until it was no longer a threat. I then rushed to my daughter, woke her up, and saw that her thumb had swollen to twice its normal size. We drove to the hospital and all turned out well.
I hate to kill things. I hate squishing even insects. I dodge squirrels on the road. I don’t like to harm anything, but when I saw that snake and knew what had happened and the danger was clear, I did not hesitate. I know that if it comes to protecting my family I would do whatever it takes. WHATEVER it takes. What would you do to protect your family? Could you live with yourself if the worst happened? Only you can make that decision.
P.S. We found the outside basement door open. It has since been locked tight.
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