27 Aug 20 “No ‘trouble’ ever got fixed late at night! Midnight is for regrets.” Holly Black Looking for Trouble! As we’re seeing in WI, when a person arms himself, and then goes out looking for trouble, he will (belatedly) discover that our Criminal Justice System has scant sympathy for him, nor for his personal decisions! When an armed person goes out, aggressively “looking for trouble,” he may find it. What he won’t find is sympathy, nor “understanding,” for his overtly belligerent activity. He may subsequently argue that, under the immediate circumstances, his lethal defensive actions were justified, but questions on the minds of investigators and jurors will always be: “What were you doing there?” “Why did you go there?” “Were you effectively seeking-out an opportunity to use deadly force?” When a VCA suddenly kicks-in the door of your home and attempts to harm you, and you respond with deadly force, your argument for legitimate self-defense is going to be strong, and will probably prevail. Likewise, when you’re out and about and going about your normal, legitimate business, and you’re suddenly, precipitously attacked (via deadly force) by a VCA, and you successfully respond with deadly force, your case for legitimate self-defense, once again, will likely be persuasive. Conversely, your argument for self-defense will be a great deal weaker when, armed, you go out “looking for someone you don’t like,” or you deliberately go to a riot or other public disturbance. Again, you may just find the person you were looking for, or you may get swept-up in the riot, but either way, you’re on your own! The System will probably not be able to protect you, nor will it have much sympathy for you when you get hurt, or you hurt someone else. As always, Operators (and other smart people), armed or not, are very good at minding our own business! Who go out “looking for trouble” may find it. What they won’t find is sympathy! /John