It’s a crude graphic, but it makes an important point. When it is you, a family member, a friend, a relative, or even that irritating neighbor that is facing aggression from a maddened active shooter, what do you do?

No one in their right mind wants to actually kill someone.

But sometimes, that is the only sane choice. A choice to take lethal action, defensively, to end the ability of the shooter to harm (more) people. Some would claim that this is a “civic duty” or negatively, “taking justice into your own hands.” That is often labeled as being a vigilante.

We at TPOL believe it to be an act of love.

As several commentators noted concerning several recent or ongoing trials (the killer-mom in Massachusetts, for one), the mere act of killing an innocent person is a clear indication, even proof, that the killer is insane. Not in their right mind.

A sane person even must baulk and think carefully about killing someone who is trying to kill us or other innocent people.

And for that matter, only crazy people want to inflict even pain on another human, whatever evil or stupid (or both) action they are taking. Such an action not just is immoral (as per the Bible and even humanistic, evolutionary ideas), it invites retribution and other consequences that are not to the benefit of a sane person.

Sadly, sanity sometimes seems to be a rarer quantity among humans, and particularly in some cultures and societies, than we like. Either as lovers of liberty or lovers of God. We realize that the world is not getting more crazy: but we know more quickly and in greater detail about the insane acts of people around the world. And especially in the States. Sane people do not want to kill a human.

But there are times when we must choose: do we spare the life of a madman, a would-be killer, a clear and present danger? Or do we try to spare the lives of innocents who are in the wrong place at the wrong time? By using deadly force to take them out? We believe that such situations do exist. Far more than we like.

We must confront that dilemma if we have love for one another, however. Whether we are speaking of love for a family member, love for a neighbor or friend (or even coworker), or a love for people in general. If we love someone, we do not want to see them killed, hurt, or even attacked physically in any way. An active shooter is doing exactly that.

If we truly love and are concerned for those threatened by an active shooter (or a person wielding a knife and attacking people (as in Times Square in the last couple of days), we will take action ourselves, or encourage others to take action to protect them. Which brings us back to the illustration. If need be, we shoot them. Or someone else shoots them and we protect and defend that person for their necessary actions. (That protection can and should extend to helping them deal with the emotional, mental, and legal impacts of having to shoot and possibly kill the attacker.