If you’re a licensed gun owner and own the gun legally demand a jury trial. The Crown will tell you that you can’t have one but you can. They have no hope of empanelling a jury that will convict someone for returning fire while they are under fire as long as they are licensed and own the gun legally.
I’m not attempting to challenge the point about a jury trial or its hypothetical outcome.
But there are serious risks to returning fire and lots of questions (even for legal firearms owners) so it’s not without peril. More importantly it may be morally irresponsible to return fire in many situations.
I say this as a firearm owner.
Let’s play a hypothetical scenario out.
In this scenario I somehow have easy access to loaded firearm at home and my home is in a residential neighborhood (this is the first sign of a possible issue but we’ll come back to that).
The article was light on the details so I picked a location that excludes remote or rural area as that simply applies to far fewer Canadians. Rural life is also the source of a number of exceptions, including safe storage requirements.
So back to my story.
I somehow have a loaded firearm. I’m under immense stress. I’ve been under pressure from an extortion attempt and now I’m under fire. I’m not trained for this situation, though I own a gun and go to the range to practice regularly.
I fire at those firing at me.
This is highly irresponsible of me.
Even my .22 could kill someone if I fail to hit my target. My hunting rifle would absolutely be able to penetrate a wall or car of an adjacent or neighbouring home.
I am absolutely morally (and possibly legally IANAL) responsible for any negative outcome that arises from my decision to return fire. I’m not allowed to shoot at a human as a civilian in Canada. I can choose to of course, but that there might be an investigation, even if I did so while under attack, is not entirely unreasonable.
Again this isn’t about a jury trial. But if I randomly kill or injure someone else, someone innocent, yes I am responsible and it’s reasonable to investigate the use of any legally owned firearm that clearly contravenes existing regulations and laws.
Owning them legally doesn’t absolve me of any of the duties I have as a result of taking on that responsibility.
Aside from a few well-known exceptions, it’s also strange that someone would have a loaded firearm at the ready as that goes against the requirements for safe storage.
Again, there are questions here and I think it does legal firearm owners a disservice to ignore the concerns of their use; or worse to make concerns of their use a problem.
We live in a time where legally owned firearms are indeed under attack - and often maliciously for political gain - but we should be willing to have our use of them scrutinized, especially when that use is not one that’s normally permitted.
You shouldn’t be returning fire without confirming your target and what is beyond it in that situation. Of course many people will end up following instincts first and think later, especially in dangerous situations. The best option would be having an escape route, or multiple, and if you’re paranoid or a likely target, practice using them often. Returning fire should be a no other reasonable options route.
