Tero wrote:Here, I don't have time for more:
Thank God! I hope you mean that as a permanent state of affairs.
It’s rarely simple. “If someone says ‘I’m going to punch you, you son of a bitch,’” Gutmacher said, it’s probably legal to pull out a firearm and say, “‘Don’t try it!’” Still, he said, some prosecutors might consider that aggravated assault.
Indeed, given the fact that it is eminently and provably possible for one to be killed or suffer serious bodily harm (like a fractured orbit and damaged eye or broken jaw and lost teeth) by a single punch.
But “if you actually go and punch me in the nose, and I shoot you,” he said, “I’ve committed manslaughter, because I’ve used excessive force.”
That would depend on the exact circumstances and probably on whether or not you were at that moment in reasonable fear
that having been punched once, and possibly injured to an extent where deadly force would be authorized, you might be punched or perhaps kicked to death as the attack continued.
Thus, if the guy punches you out of the blue you are CERTAINLY justified in pulling your pistol proactively to deter further assault. If he retreats as a result then you are NOT authorized to shoot him. If, however, he does NOT retreat and acts in a manner that raises a reasonable belief that he's going to CONTINUE the assault, then you are very likely to be fully authorized to shoot and kill him.
As for warning shots—fired into the air or at the ground—they are a legal no-no. In Florida a warning shot carries a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence
Indeed. That's because "warning shots" endanger others and are unnecessary anyway. The production of the firearm itself is plenty of "warning." And in fact in a situation where deadly force is authorized you need not provide any warning at all. "Stop or I'll shoot" is utter nonsense and tactically a very bad idea because you can't talk and shoot at the same time and all you are doing is demonstrating to your assailant that you are indecisive about using deadly force in self defense.
Just draw the gun, aim it and prepare to fire, if you have the leisure to do so. Don't say anything, let the muzzle do the talking. If you don't have the time, draw and shoot. Neither warning shots nor verbal warnings are EVER required prior to the lawful use of deadly force. In fact, let's say that you see a thug threatening a woman with a knife at her throat and you can approach from the rear, silently, and shoot him in the medulla oblongata at an angle that will not allow the round to harm anyone else. You would be perfectly justified in doing exactly that, without warning. Or perhaps you're hunting and you see a thug trying to rape a woman and you have a clear shot from a distance of 100 yards. Go ahead and take it if you want to do so because nothing in the law says you have to warn a criminal and give him a chance to surrender before you shoot him. You don't.
"Seth is Grandmaster Zen Troll who trains his victims to troll themselves every time they think of him" Robert_S
"All that is required for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke
"Those who support denying anyone the right to keep and bear arms for personal defense are fully complicit in every crime that might have been prevented had the victim been effectively armed." Seth
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