Originally Posted by
SteyrAUG
Outside the house, even if he's dropped his weapon, failure to comply means "he still wants to fight" and probably has another weapon and is just waiting for "his chance" when he's not accepting the one I'm providing.
I think it is important that we:
1) we know the law of the state we live in regarding home defense;
2) make sure we are talking on the same sheet of music when we use terms such as 'failure to comply.'
3) understand that there is no law that says 'even if he's dropped his weapon, failure to comply means "he still wants to fight" and probably has another weapon' that each force situation is based on it's own facts and circumstances.
In general, the laws regarding a homeowner's use of force in defense of their residence and occupants are less stringent than the laws regarding police use of force. Neither the police nor the homeowner are unduly hampered in my opinion.
Having said that, if you act to use lethal force to protect your life or your family, it is better for you if your actions are seen as 'center court', versus at the 'edge of the court' near the out of bounds line.
If you were assessing the use of force, which do you think sounds better to you:
Situation 1: 'I told him to get on the ground, he refused so I shot him because I was fearful he would attack me.' In this case the bad guy lives and says ' I was fearful the homeowner was going to shoot me so I was attempting to leave the area, when he shot me.'
or
Situation 2: 'I told him to get on the ground, he started to, and then he stood up. I told him I had a weapon and was covering him, and he needed to get on the ground. At that point he began walking towards me. I had accosted this man inside my home, he knew I was armed, as he began advancing towards me I believed his intent was to gain control of my weapon and kill me. I fired to protect myself.' In this case the bad guy also lives and says ' I was just trying to reason with the guy, I wanted to leave and he shot me.'
I know that I'm not good at writing these scenarios, but I do know that the homeowner in #2 is in much better shape because he was able to articulate an overt move to do harm, in this case closing the distance on an armed homeowner. It is very easy for a jury or your peers to see the reasonableness or your actions when there is some overt move to use of facilitate the use of force.
I am not saying that the homeowner in #1 behaved illegally. I'm just saying his actions put him on the edge of the 'court' where a jury might be more easily swayed that he wasn't reasonably in fear when he used force.
Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President... - Theodore Roosevelt, Lincoln and Free Speech, Metropolitan Magazine, Volume 47, Number 6, May 1918.
Every Communist must grasp the truth. Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. Our principle is that the Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party Mao Zedong, 6 November, 1938 - speech to the Communist Patry of China's sixth Central Committee
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