Can we own guns for self-defense?

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that self defense may be justified if the aggressor is repelled with moderation. My friends and I talk about various government legislation which may, by law, demand gun owners to hand over their weapons or be placed in jail. Not kidding. We will not do this and hope the authorities are in the state of grace before they knock on our doors.

Is shooting an official who would force us to leave our families defenseless, literally, a mortal sin, or justified self defense? Crime escalated in England and Australia after their governments forced their citizens to disarm.
 
See the link below for an answer to the general question of the use of guns for self-defense. In response to your question specifically, I do want to say that it is gravely problematic to resolve to kill any government official who is innocently doing his job by enforcing a law for citizens to turn in certain weapons. When the Church states that self-defense must be “proportionate” to the unjust aggression, it means that one must seek to take the least injurious action necessary to defend oneself. Shooting to kill is the most injurious action and should only be taken when one’s life or the lives of others are in immediate (not imagined) mortal danger. The claim that you and your family will be “defenseless, literally” by not having immediate access to a gun is, very likely, hyperbolic rhetoric and not a dispassionate assessment of your living situation.

Recommended reading:

Does the Church allow guns for self-defense?
 
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