Without the Gun He'd Have Kept That Door Locked

In Houston, Texas, a convenience store clerk has been fired after shooting a thug who punched him during a confrontation.

The confrontation apparently started when three men approached the store, only to find it locked. The clerk talked with them through the locked door, then opened the door to confront one of the men, who punched him. In response the clerk shot the man.

This is a perfect example of a gun getting you into a situation you would otherwise avoid. There was no need for the clerk to unlock the door, he was perfectly safe with the door between him and the thug. He escalated the situation by unlocking the door and confronting the man, knowing that he had a hidden trump card in the form of a gun.

Robert Heinlein talked of the courage a gun lends you in his survival novel Tunnel In the Sky:

Rod did not argue, but he still had a conviction that a gun was a handy thing to have around. It made him feel good, taller, stronger and more confident, to have one slapping against his thigh. He didn't have to use it--not unless he just had to. And he knew enough to take cover; nobody in the class could do a silent sneak the way he could. While Sis was a good soldier, still she didn't know everything and---

But Sis was still talking. "I know how good a gun feels. It makes you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, three meters tall and covered with hair. You're ready for anything and
kind of hoping you'll find it.
Which is exactly what is dangerous about it--because you aren't anything of the sort. You are a feeble, hairless embryo, remarkably easy to kill."

So he got cocky, and a bullet got fired. As did he. Well, he needs to get out of the convenience store clerk business, since according to the video news story he had been robbed before, and shot. Better to work at something where you aren't subject to being punched by Usual Suspects® for doing your job.

This is not to say that I'm giving the Usual Suspects® a pass on this. I'm happy that piece of shit got shot, maybe he'll straighten up after this, but I rather doubt it. Low IQ and poor impulse control marks the whole race; read any newspaper for proof of this. The clerk was right to arm himself, wrong to get cocky and escalate a situation that shouldn't have been escalated. All of you gun owners out there, take heed: learn when (and when not to) use that gun you carry. Follow Derbyshire's Rules for interacting with the Usual Suspects®. This guy (and probably also George Zimmerman, who killed Trayvon Martin in Florida) got cocky by possessing a gun. You can't afford to be cocky. You have to be smart, instead.

H/T Gateway Pundit.