What (if anything) are you willing to kill for post-SHTF? To consider this question, first let’s start with a quote on justifiable homicide from Wikipedia:
Under early Athenian law, it was considered justifiable homicide to kill an adulterer caught in the act or a burglar caught in the act at night… in eighteenth century English law , it was considered a justifiable homicide if a husband killed a man “ravishing” or raping his wife (Blackstone, Wm. at p. 391), but modern law treats this as only a circumstance that will mitigate murder to a conviction for manslaughter . In other words, the socialization of modern men is supposed to result in less violent responses to provocations.
… in some cases in the United States . A homicide may be considered justified if it is done to prevent a very serious crime , such as rape, armed robbery, or murder. The assailant’s intent to commit a serious crime must be clear at the time. A homicide performed out of vengeance, or retribution for action in the past would generally not be considered justifiable.
In cases of self-defense, the defendant should generally obey a duty to retreat if it is possible to do so (except from one’s home or place of business). In the states of Florida and Louisiana , and other Castle Doctrine states, there is no duty to retreat. Preemptive self-defense, cases in which one kills another on suspicion that the victim might eventually become dangerous, is considered criminal, no matter how likely it is that one was right. Justifiable homicide is a legal gray area, and there is no real legal standard for a homicide to be considered justifiable. The circumstances under which homicide is justified are usually considered to be that the defendant had no alternative method of self-defense or defense of another than to kill the attacker.
There are two questions to ask ourselves. One, if SHTF happens gradually and some law and order still exists, how might the standards of justifiable homicide change? Secondly and more important, in our own minds and hearts, what degree of force are we willing to react with in difficult situations. Certainly if today a group of men stole your picnic basket you wouldn’t open fire against them, even if your wife made your favorite bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches. Now let’s change the scenario. It’s SHTF time and you wake to find a group of armed strangers stealing your food? Now how about your next door neighbor stealing your food for his starving kids? You’ve already been charitable and now he’s getting into your deep larder, but you used to drive his kids to the local soccer match where they played together.
Would you shoot a black masked, private mercenary thug that the governor called in and deputized that tried to disarm you forcibly? How about a well-meaning young kid in the National Guard who, pointing a gun at you, told you he had orders to disarm you (of your only weapon), contrary to the constitution and the needs of your family’s protection during a Katrina style disaster. You know that rapists and murders will be out at night while he’s safe asleep in his barracks. He’s too young and stupid to know what he’s doing is wrong. Still, there you both are. How about the local cop who got the same order. You’ve been fishing with him. He’s a good man, except for the fact that he’s about to violate his constitutional oath.
It’s better to go through these moral exercises in advance and have your line in the sand already drawn. Of course we cannot know what we will really do when confronted with difficult choices, but freezing up at the moment of truth while we work out our ethical dilemmas is not the best option. We need to know what we are willing to do, and how far we are prepared to go in advance so that when the time comes, we can act decisively, already having made peace with the righteousness of our decision. – SF in Hawaii
JWR Adds: I am a strong proponent of storing extra wheat, rice, beans, and honey to dispense as charity. Buy as much as you can afford. Shop around for the best prices, buy in bulk, and pack it properly to prevent spoilage and the ravages of vermin (as described in the“Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course.) Bulk foods also make good barter items for paying neighbors that might become your employees in the event of TEOTWAWKI (farm hands, security guards, et cetera.)