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Do not harass the editor if you think the peer-review process is not fast enough. Do your homework on mean/median turnaround times before submissionDo not waste reviewer/editor resources. Don’t submit a manuscript to a journal, and then, after peer-review or even acceptance, change your mind (e.g. because you feel you could publish it in a “higher impact factor” journal). Submitting a paper is a request to have a paper published, not a request for a free opinion on what to do with the paper.The journal impact factor (JIF) is probably not as important as you think. We find authors insisting that their university or funders only allows publishing in impact factor ranked journals. This is nonsense. No such university/funder-level policies exist, at least I have never seen such policies in writing, they usually exist only in the investigators’ head. If you think you need a JIF to convince your tenure and promotion committee (TPC) about the importance of your work then this is just laziness on your part. A high JIF is the convenient and easy way but lazy way to convince the TPC about the “quality” and importance of your work. Use other metrics such as actual citations to YOUR work rather than the JIF.

A little bit of credentials: I am a Texas Department Of Public Safety Certified License to Carry Instructor , a Massad Ayoob Group Certified Deadly Force Instructor, an NRA Personal Protection in the Home Instructor , a Massad Ayoob Group Appointed Staff Instructor and I do consulting for attorneys on the matter of lawful self defense. Nothing I say is legal advice nor is it an official statement on behalf of any other agency or organization . It’s only my opinion.The Question is : “ If three people break into my home with masks and a knife , am I completely within my rights to shoot them?”The Answer:It depends on your jurisdiction. In the US, under the conditions you have stated, unquestionably YES, except for a possible “duty to Retreat” in some states. More on that later.First, let’s define “shooting”. “Shooting” is the application of Deadly Force by the firing of a gun. Firing is not actually required, Merely Pointing a Gun st someone is also the application of Deadly Force. A knife represents Deadly Force, As does a cricket bat, a tire iron , a baseball bat, a meat cleaver, a golf club, a ball peen hammer, a frying pan, an ax, a sword, a brick, a two by four. Anything that can be used to inflict Death or serious bodily injury is “Deadly Force”. There are no degrees to Deadly Force, knife Deadly Force is exactly the equivalent to frying pan Deadly Force, which is the same as hammer Deadly Force which is the same as pistol Deadly Force. Even fists and feet can be Deadly Force. Deadly Force is Deadly Force.Having dealt with terms , we can proceed to the State statutory analysis.As an example , in Texas , see Texas Penal Code (TPC) 9.32. The statute specifically states that it is “Reasonable” to use Deadly Force to defend against or prevent the imminent Commission of the offenses of : sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, murder, robbery, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping. It also states that it is Reasonable to use Deadly Force against an actor who, unlawfully and with force enters or attempts to enter unlawfully and with force your occupied dwelling, vehicle or place of business or employment, or attempts to remove you unlawfully and with force from those places. As an aside, that is the basic definition of “Home Invasion” and “car jacking”, although Texas does not use those terms.A little bit further on, TPC 9.42 states that it is lawful to use Deadly Force against a burglar.Lastly ,TPC 9.32 states that it is lawful to use Deadly Force to defend against another’s unlawful use of Deadly Force and when the Defender is in reasonable fear for their life or the life of an innocent third party.Given the Law above and analyzing it:The three masked intruders are armed, they are equipped with Deadly Force, to wit , a knife. The Defender is allowed to assume that they are there to murder. The Defender may also assume that they are there to rob , rape or kidnap. The law says it is REASONABLE for the Defender to use Deadly Force to defend against murder, sexual assault, robbery or kidnapping.Secondly, they have entered “unlawfully and with force.”; they aren’t delivering cookies. The law says it is REASONABLE for the Defender to use Deadly ForceThirdly, any normal and reasonable person encountering one or more knife armed intruders in his HOUSE is certainly in REASONABLE fear for his life. The law says it is REASONABLE to use Deadly Force to resist and defend against the unlawful use of Deadly Force.Fourthly: The intruders are Burglars. They have entered an occupied dwelling with the assumed intent to commit a theft or any felony- rape, robbery, murder, kidnapping. They are NOT delivering cookies. The law says it is REASONABLE to use Deadly Force to defend against a burglar.In Texas, we have the Castle Doctrine. This is based on the ancient English legal principle- A mans home is his Castle; not even the King himself can enter that home without express permission or a magistrates warrant. The householder In Texas is NOT required to flee or attempt to flee from a criminal attack.What does this actually mean? It means , in the scenario you have provided, that the masked Home Invaders have stupidly brought knives to a Gun Fight.That is the Texas statutory analysis.Other US states have similar laws although they do vary in detail.Note one Important thing: In some states, even an innocent house holder must attempt to flee before they can use Deadly Force. This is referred to as “Duty to Retreat. “ The vexing problem is that No where do those states define “how far is enough” before the householder is allowed to turn and fight. Is it “ flee down the hall”? Is it “Flee all the way to the garage”? Is it “flee to the children’s bedrooms and then you can turn and fight”? If the householder does not run far enough before fighting SHE may be arrested. The local Prosecutor will get to second guess the householder who is making her decision in a split second. He gets to think about it for a week; perhaps have a second cup of coffee as he contemplates the issue. He is weighing the facts, deciding whether to prosecute for “ you didn’t flee far enough from the knife wielding intruder” before she turned to fight. That’s Duty to Retreat. Does it apply in your state?Fortunately it does not in Texas.Know your state laws.I hope this is of value.

My credentials: I am a Certified Deadly Force Instructor and Texas License to Carry Instructor, among other certifications.The question: “ Why does US Law favor self defense using firearms over self defense using fists”?It doesn’t. This doesn’t have to do with children on the playground or schoolyard bullying. Self defense with fists isn’t better or more noble or more honorable than the use of specific defense tools.Perhaps the questioner has read little US law? It is the states that deal with the law of self defense, and each state while slightly different , is broadly grounded in the Pronciples of the Common Law Of England.Self Defense must be “Reasonable”. Innocent people are allowed to defend themselves from criminal attack.Agreed Mutual combat such as two guys in a bar saying : “meet me in the parking lot and we will settle this”, is illegal , unlawful and is NOT self defense.Violent crime may always be resisted with deadly force. If a 6’ thug threatens to bash your face in with his fist unless you give him your wallet, he is committing ROBBERY. A blow from a fist can kill and often has; a fist just like a brick or a frying pan, knife, hammer, baseball bat sword or gun is deadly force. Deadly force does not come in greater or lesser degrees, it simply IS. The robber is threatening to use DEADLY FORCE on a victim. The victim is not required to match a Robber by specific Instrument of deadly force such as fist to fist , knife to knife, ball bat to ball bat. The innocent victim is allowed to match Deadly Force with Deadly Force. Here is an opportunity to learn some American Law, see Texas Penal Code Section 9.31 and 9.32. It’s online; in English. It’s very clear and specific. The Bad Guy introduced Deadly Force into the equation, the victim didn’t. The victim is allowed to respond.Deadly Force May be used only as long as the threat remains. If the victim responds with deadly force , say by pulling a revolver, and the attacker says “ whoops, my bad” and turns and flees, there is no longer a legal justification for use of deadly force . The threat has been stopped. If the victim fired a shot and missed, but the bad guy quits and runs, the threat has been stopped and the justification for using deadly force has ceased. On the other hand, maybe the bad guy is really committed to a successful robbery- his gang buddies are watching and grading him . That person may need to be shot numerous times before he is “stopped”. It is dependent on the circumstance.Ability, Opportunity, Jeopardy Calculus. In addition to specific statutory statements permitting use of deadly force based on specific offense, such as the list of offenses in TPC 9.32, the other determination of justification of lawful self defense deadly force is the triad of Ability , Opportunity and Jeopardy. Does the bad guy have the Ability to apply deadly force to the victim? Does the bad guy have the Opportunity - can the bad guy bring his means of deadly force actually and immediately to bear on the Victim? Is the victim reasonably in Jeopardy of death or serious bodily injury?But fists legally being somehow morally better better than other means of self defense? Only in a pub brawl.