But there's a huge difference between A) calling the cops/transit authority about the rape in progress B) filming it so the guy knows he is being identified c) saying, "Hey, stop that" or D) any number of other things that people on the subway might have done that did not involve confronting other people with an assualt weapon.

I'll say it again - In my opinion, when you leave your house armed to go insert yourself into a situation that is not directly about you, you (should) have forfeited the right to claim self-defense. The potential for that to go horribly wrong is much, much greater than any potential good that it might do.

Policy (and public sentiment) ought to based on the over-arching dynamic and not on individual instances. For example, statistics showed that in 2012, there were 259 justifiable self-defense homicides in which victims turned the tables. In 2012, there were 1.2 million violent crimes, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault -- despite 300 million firearms are owned in the United States.

The Violence Policy Center also said the 259 justifiable homicides should be balanced against the theft of about 232,000 guns each year -- about 172,000 of them during burglaries. That’s a ratio of one justifiable homicide for every 896 guns put into the hands of criminals. In other words, the fact that a few people actually do deter home invasions with guns isn't the only relevant aspect. I'm not going to get into a First Amendment discussion here. I'm just saying whether or not people have a right to arm themselves really ought to be balanced out (in public opinion at least) by how overwhelmingly, it's not actually in their best interests or that of society for them to do so.

Whether or not Rittenhouse might or might not have potentially done some good is completely mitigated (for me at least) by the fact that overwhelmingly, it's a TERRIBLE idea to have individuals (particularly children) roaming around in a tense situation armed to the teeth. The fact that in a few instances it could actually be somewhat helpful is completely irrelevant and overshadowed by the huge potential for it to be a complete disaster where a lot of people get unnecessarily hurt - as confirmed by what the Army vet said about proper training, etc. It's a bad precedent to set that people get reinforced in thinking that is the best way for them to behave.

I've never said it's a simple issue, but I think that the big picture does speak for itself.