The hero is alone in a [[DieHardOnAnX Die Hard]] situation (with limited resources and running low on ammunition). He manages to free one or more hostages, and the first thing he does is to give away his only gun to one of them.

This may happen for several reasons. Possibly the rescuer is soon going to acquire another one himself. (You'd think, though, that in that situation, it would be better to wait until you actually had a second gun.) Possibly the rescuee is better trained to handle the weapon. Sometimes, however, it happens for absolutely no reason, other than to [[RuleOfDrama be dramatic]] and [[SelfImposedChallenge make things tougher for the hero]] and/or show what a good guy the hero is.

Note that this is completely different from any occasion where someone on a rescue mission gives a hostage a ''spare'' gun. This just makes good sense that both you and your ally/friend are armed while trying to escape.

In [[RealLife Real Life]], it is worth noting that (in the highly unlikely event you find yourself disrupting a hostage situation) this is probably a good idea ONLY if the person you are giving the weapon to is better trained to use it than you are. It is also worth noting that a police officer or soldier who hands their government-issued weapon to a civilian stands a very good chance of being punished for breaking regulations.

Contrast TheGreatBritishCopperCapture, when an unarmed police officer encounters an armed criminal
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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]

* ''Film/AirForceOne'': When James Marshall frees the staff from a locked room aboard the airplane, the first thing he does is give his gun to the Secret Service man, which makes tremendous sense, regardless of his [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent President Action]] abilities.
* ''Film/BadBoysII'': Syd's rescue.
* ''VideoGame/DesperadosIII'': {{Defied}}. Marshal Wayne, upon his rescue, attempts to {{invoke|d}} this trope by asking [=McCoy=] to lend him his Buntline to which [=McCoy=] replies that that’ll occur only if “he takes a bullet to the head.”
* ''Film/DieHard'': Seeing through Hans' charade, John pretends to be doing this when he gives him a gun. {{Subverted}} not only because Hans is the BigBad but also because the gun is empty.
* ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'':
** During the climax of the original film, Snake voluntarily gives his signature revolver to Maggie so she can attempt a LastStand against the Duke. The look on his face makes it clear that he's doing so because [[spoiler:Brain's death got to him]], and he wants to make amends by giving Maggie the chance for revenge.
** In the sequel, he gives the 1911 he takes from the Surgeon General Of Beverly Hills to Taslima, though this does absolutely no good, as she dies in the next scene.
* ''Film/FarCry5InsideEdensGate'': Despite holding an assault rifle, Alex gives it to Hannah in favor of fleeing with the footage he and his friends filmed of Eden's Gate, leaving himself unarmed and unable to resist when Joseph and his brothers finally catch up to him.
%%* ''Film/MissionImpossibleIII''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* ''Literature/LoneWolf'': In the gamebook ''Fire on the Water'', if you have the Magic Spear (the only weapon at that point that can harm a Helghast) you can give it to Lord-Lieutenant Rhygar so that he can guard the entrance of the Tarnalin tunnel. In early editions, you get killed for doing this.
* ''Literature/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'': Bond gives Vivienne a pistol with which to defend herself. She later puts six rounds into Sluggsy and Sol's car.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

* ''Series/TheGoodGuys'': Jack does this in the pilot, despite being specifically told by his superior not to.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'': In [[Recap/StargateSG1S3E14Foothold "Foothold"]], as soon as Jack O'Neill frees Major Davis, he gives him his pistol.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/DeadRising'': In general, it's better to give your guns to the non-suicidal survivors you rescue because as {{NPC}}s they will have unlimited ammo. As an added bonus, since bosses tend to go for you first, doing so frees the survivors to pepper them with bullets.
* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'':
** After you free Agent Gunter, you have the option of giving him your pistol.
** A player who isn't careful with their weapons can find themselves in this situation in ''Videogame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' before the first shootout with Belltower in the Alice Garden Pods, as [[PlayfulHacker Arie Van Bruggen]] begs for a weapon to defend himself. [[spoiler:And if you don't give him one, he ''will'' die]]. Of course, depending on [[PlayerCharacter Adam's]] augmentations, a gun [[StealthExpert may not even be remotely necessary to escape unharmed]], ultimately subverting the spirit of this trope.
** On the other hand, if you didn't know this was coming and didn't have a spare gun you picked up on the way, giving him one of your weapons means giving away a substantial investment of weapons mods that you're not going to get back.
* ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'': For no apparent reason, police officer Cybil Bennet gives her pistol to the protagonist Harry Mason, an untrained novelist. She appears armed in other situations without Harry giving it back, so it may have been her backup handgun.
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': In the Mann vs. Machine teaser. When the RED Heavy, Scout, and Engineer find the BLU Soldier and Demoman playing cards, Heavy points a shotgun at them - then turns it around and throws it to Demoman, silently offering to join forces.

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