Q: Do You think you could take a life to defend your own.
A: If I was being attacked? Absolutely. I am well versed in martial arts and I hunt. Taking a life is no problem for me. If it was a situation like "Saw" or if I had to sacrifice my life to save someone elses, no. I would choose to sacrifice myself to save someone else every time. I am a firefighter, so death does not scare me in the least.
Q: Would having a friend or family member's life on the line with yours make you change your reaction?
A: I would be more careful to keep them safe. Such as shielding them from any gunfire, or pushing them into cover
Q: Would the difference between the up-close kill, and the point and click of a ranged weapon have a difference on you?
A: No. I hunt so I gut and clean animals. I have slit a suffering animal's throat. Blood and gore do not bother me.
Q: Would having a stranger's life on the line with yours make you change your reaction?
A: Again, no. I have saved many strangers lives while putting mine on the line.
These answers may make me appear to be a bit of a sociopath, the fact that taking someone's life would not faze me. The truth of it is, that would not be my first reaction. If someone tried to kill me or someone else, I would disarm and incapacitate them. If they refused to give up, and I had no other choice, then yes, they would die by my hand. And no matter how much of a pacifist you claim to be, the potential for violence exists in all of us. Find the documentary "How Violent Are You?" and watch it. A man, a pacifist his whole life, explores the violent side, and actually beats up a man on camera. Self preservation is the second strongest instinct in the animal kingdom, second only to our instinct to preserve our bloodline. This is not a morality argument. This isn't even an argument. If someone broke into your home right now, and threatened to kill you or your family, and you had the opportunity and really believed he would do what he claims, you would kill him. If humans did not have the instinct to remove threats to our livelihood, we would have died out millenia ago.