# 3 thugs attack a woman on the subway would you intervene? Would you use deadly force if armed?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-thugs-attack-a-woman-on-the-subway-would-you-intervene-would-you-use-deadly-force-if-armed/725076>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 13, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-thugs-attack-a-woman-on-the-subway-would-you-intervene-would-you-use-deadly-force-if-armed/725076 "2015-07-13T19:09:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\
**Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-thugs-attack-a-woman-on-the-subway-would-you-intervene-would-you-use-deadly-force-if-armed/725076/41 "2015-07-18T15:16:34Z")

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I’d certainly try to intervene. I don’t know what that would entail, particularly if I had my gun on me. Gun owners have an obligation to avoid provoking confrontations precisely because they have a gun and doing so makes its use more likely. District attorneys don’t typically like that, either. Then again, concealed carry is illegal in DC, so anybody who would use a gun in this situation would be facing significant jail time even if their actions were life-saving.

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**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\
**Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-thugs-attack-a-woman-on-the-subway-would-you-intervene-would-you-use-deadly-force-if-armed/725076/42 "2015-07-18T19:11:02Z")

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One more point, too, even if concealed carry were legal, as it is now in Chicago - it would likely still be banned on public transit, as it is now in Chicago. So it’s most likely a gun in the hands of someone who could help would get them jail time even if they only threatened with it. As it is, even if I had a CCW permit, I can’t carry most days due to the CTA ban and have to continue relying on my wits, pepper spray, and a knife. Mostly wits.

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**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\
**Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-thugs-attack-a-woman-on-the-subway-would-you-intervene-would-you-use-deadly-force-if-armed/725076/43 "2015-07-18T22:01:01Z")

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Girls on one girl?

Not one would be more than ½ my size most likely.

Hair pulling is not just a girl thing.

On a crowed subway car or a bus, I doubt Lucy Liu or Angeline Joline could take me if I got wound up.

So ya, I would probably do something stupid.

As a little kid a Looooong time ago, I was backed into a fence as one against many. One of my defining moments.

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