Thanks to rhetoric from anti-gunners and the media, a lot of people may have gotten the impression that claiming self-defense is a “get out of jail free” card when it comes to murder. After all, there’s been plenty of talk about how self-defense laws and Stand Your Ground laws give people permission to murder folks, so it’s not surprising that some people might start to believe it.

Maybe that’s what happened when a Texas man murdered a Florida woman, then dismembered her body for disposal.

Christopher Lee Takhvar, a 43-year-old Texas man, was arrested for the murder of Florida native, 63-year-old Robin Lee Upson.

According to the Marion County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office, an investigation started when Upson’s dismembered and decapitated remains were found in the Ocala National Forest in June 2018.

Authorities later found out that that Takhvar, Robin’s business partner and friend of about 20 years, had murdered her, and dismembered and disposed of her body.

On June 11, 2018, MCSO deputies were called to an area near the intersection of NE 115th Avenue and East Highway 40 in the Ocala National Forest in reference to human remains being found there by a hiker.

When they got to the scene, deputies discovered a woman’s torso, which was missing its head and appendages.

…

MCSO Detective Aaron Levy traveled to Texas to interview Takhvar, where he admitted to stealing the van and killing Robin, claiming it was done in self-defense.

He also admitted to completely dismembering her body and disposing of Robin’s torso in the Ocala National Forest.

Um…no.

You see, that’s not how self-defense works.

To quote the great science fiction character, “If someone tries to kill you, you kill ’em right back.” If you do that, you’re in compliance with the law. Few will dispute that fact, even people who oppose gun ownership.

What you don’t get to do is cut the body into pieces, dump it in a forest, then claim self-defense after you’ve been caught. Frankly, no one will buy it.

Trying to dispose of a body can be taken as evidence of premeditation. Even if it’s not, though, it’s evidence that Takhvar figured he was about to land in prison.

If it were truly self-defense, it’s unlikely he would have felt that way.

The truth of the matter is, despite the claims by some that self-defense laws are tantamount to legalized murder, they’re not. They’re for a specific set of circumstances when one is faced with violence directed at them that may result in their death or serious injury. There are no laws on the books that legalize murder, nor laws that let you get away with it.

Sorry, anti-gunners, but that’s just not how it works.

Now, Takhvar is looking at a long time in prison if he’s lucky. Florida has the death penalty, after all, so he’ll be fortunate if life in prison is what he gets instead of the alternative.

But the lesson here, boys and girls, is that no matter what anti-gunners claim, you can’t scream “self-defense” if you murder someone in cold blood. Now, maybe they’ll stop screaming such nonsense.

Then again, if they had the intelligence to understand this, they wouldn’t be claiming otherwise.