You have no more authority than anyone. You also have no less.

Now please allow me to ask YOU a question:

What do YOU think YOU should do?

For your answer, philosophically and legally, civilians DO have the right (if not an OBLIGATION) to help others. Still, each scenario can have its issues, and the devil is always in the details.

In the real world, the questions you will need to ask are:

Are my actions reasonable?
What would another reasonable person think or do in this situation?

Also, it is GOOD ADVICE to have THESE questions answered and the reasons identified, BEFORE you PULL THE TRIGGER

You must make all these decisions in a heart beat, hence training yourself all the time.

Know what lawyer you would call, too.

The CCW issue is complicated, if only from a legal perspective. Yes, CCW holders are encouraged NOT to enforce the law or act as Police Officers. Yes, we want our CCW holders to exhaust all reasonable avenues BEFORE they resort to using deadly force.

Still, I am certain they are encouraged to ALWAYS preserve life, too. Sometimes, to preserve life, we must take it.

I say do what you reasonably believe to be right. In the scenarios you describe, could YOU live with yourself, if you COULD have stopped a murder or rape, and failed to act?

In the end, that question will always be more important that what two lawyers will argue about. If the matter is justified -- END OF STORY Dammed be what they say if you know you did well and good!

You may lose your CCW privilege for a time -- until the matter is legally resolved as a Justifiable Homicide -- but YOU will be alive -- and hopefully another GOOD person will still be alive, too. For that reason alone, it is probably worth it.

So, in a nutshell -- in practice and according to case law -- a civilian may use deadly force to defend his or her OWN life, as well as defend the life of ANOTHER person -- such as your children, your wife -- or a stranger.

Just BE reasonable -- and hopefully, 12 people who could not get out of jury duty will agree -- since that is the legal standard we will apply.

In this hyper-litigious society, no one will blame you for NOT acting in someone else's behalf -- except maybe YOU. Your confusion is probably because this society's lawyers have created so much fear, even some GOOD people are afraid to act.

When GOOD PEOPLE are afraid to do what is right, who wins?

The devil is a lawyer, to be sure.

For those who understand, no further explanation is necessary. If you do not understand then you do not need to own. Nor do you need to respond.

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“It is anomalous to hold that in order to convict a man the police cannot extract by force what is in his mind, but can extract what is in his stomach.”