[oldkim]

The statistics of how much a handgun has deterred crime is not something you can easily trace as it goes from a preventative rather than a statistical number.

Let's say a robbery has happened 5 times in the last week. 2 times a gun was used, 2 times a knife and 1 unknown. How can you track how many times a crime was prevented? You can't trace that.

NRA has some numbers but I believe most all are in agreement that there is vastly large number of crimes that have been prevented in some degree by citizens (some are armed).

Just by some good citizen stepping in and saying that they're calling the cops.

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Sorry went off a tangent there.

So back to the parking lot scenario. All those factors comes into play. I mean if it's crowded than one simply would have to yell out for help, right? Attracts attention and deters BG's from doing bad things. On the other hand. Let's say your closing the store and it's midnight. No one is out there except you two. It's dark.

Your in the country, isolated on some farm.... Just kidding on the last one.

Situational awareness comes back.

Your car is down the block and he's catching up to you. I mean we can get really silly here with all the scenarios.

Have you ever read a transcript from a court case? It's very dry. It just a print out what people said. Nothing else. Now have you ever heard of (listened to) a court case - very different. The nuances of what people say and what they say are waaaaay different.

I bring this up because reading David's assessment kinda reminds me of a lawyer - a defense lawyer. Oh, this robber has every right to be there tooo. Oh, the robber was just minding his own bussiness when this man "attacked him" Come on. We're talking about a parking lot in the dark, alone. Not at the mall in Nordstroms in the shoe section.

We're the good guys here right?