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No, I didn't miss the point...
... and I didn't derail a thing. Your question was inherently derailing itself.
Most of us feel temptations to act in any number of ways that we would never really allow ourselves to act. It's silly to ask if possession of a weapon reduces temptation. I have to assume what you were really asking was if possession of a weapon forced one to do more to limit temptation's pull.
I shouldn't need to be carrying to know that it's inappropriate to yield to the temptations you described, and neither should anybody else on this forum.
I think it's safe to say that most people who are trained in dealing out violence, and who are aware of its potential effects, are more likely to want to avoid situations where violence is necessary, and are more likely to try to take steps to de-escalate tensions if possible. This is why you rarely see military people insist on going to war without having exhausted every other option, and why you don't normally see martial arts instructors getting into street brawls.
OTOH, I tend to see and hear a lot more chest thumping from the Walter Mitty crowd.
Cheers,
M
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