Do I need a less-than-lethal weapon in my home?

[summer44]

I've never had anyone in my home that myself or a family member did not invite. I invited the contractor (including his crew) in and have known him half my life, so I trust him when I'm not there.

The point is, **** happens and because my standard for killing someone in more than them simply being in my home unexpectedly (to me) they are still alive and I'm not in prison.

So finding people in your home unexpectedly is acceptable to you and then you feel the need to start to draw your weapon cause you are not sure who they are. I ask you, What is wrong with that picture.

 

[Ken Ford]

I don't think the intent of the thread was someone breaking in your home but someone entering your home that was drunk without authorization or being invited. think about if it were your 11o pound wife at home alone and a 250-pound drunk came in saying this is my home, he takes two Step forward, she shoots twice, is she legally guilty of manslaughter. I say no, I say she reasonably could have been in fear for her life or great bodily harm.

With continued aggression I'd say you are right,and she could articulate the incident.

 

[Bear44]

I read your post. There was a stranger (to you) in your home that resulted in your half drawing your weapon on innocent people twice (actually three times). That is a condition that is obviously acceptable to you when very simple communication would avoid it. Like I said I can't even imagine.
I can't conceive of anything more serious than beginning to draw a weapon on another human so I do everything possible to ELIMINATE the circumstances where I would have to. If I draw it, it's getting used. I'm sure as heck not going to put myself in a situation where I'm grabbing my gun on the exterminator or the cable guy!

Then you need to sharpen your reflexes. LOL!

The flaw in your logic is "If I draw it, it's getting used." Why? All that does is cost you that precious fraction of a second you talked about. I'm not going to wait to start my draw until I have clearly decided I'm going to kill someone. I'm starting it the moment it seems I might have to. These aren't the only times I've stopped a draw and they won't be the last. All a draw does is make the weapon more readily accessible for use if needed. It should not be a commitment to use it.

 

[Ken Ford]

If he's an intruder, yes. We can "what if" this to death. We're both smart enough to know what we are both talking about here.
Your tact might cost you your life. Mine "might" cause me some legal issues. It's not much of a decision IMO.

But sure let's play. It's 3am (drunks like 3am) you hear your door open. You know you locked it. What are you grabbing, a gun or a tazer?

You would be in prison for the rest of your life. This would not be reasonable for most juries, and your story would just give fodder to the anti 1st folks.
You have to be in real reasonable fear.

So the person suffering from dementia that thinks they are in there own home would now be dead, and in your eyes that's OK?

 

[GeauxLSU]

Then you need to sharpen your reflexes. LOL!

The flaw in your logic is "If I draw it, it's getting used." Why? All that does is cost you that precious fraction of a second you talked about. I'm not going to wait to start my draw until I have clearly decided I'm going to kill someone. I'm starting it the moment it seems I might have to. These aren't the only times I've stopped a draw and they won't be the last. All a draw does is make the weapon more readily accessible for use if needed. It should not be a commitment to use it.

The ONLY time I'm drawing and not using "might" be in a public situation going bad, from cover, where I'm not sure of the outcome. In my own home, again, there's no decision needed. You're an intruder, you get shot.
You and I live under different circumstances obviously. I don't have anyone in my home without my knowledge. Our respective responses appear to be working for both of us so to each their own. Although I don't have a cable guy, an exterminator or a kid working for a contractor I hired half scared out of their wits for absolutely no reason, but that's just a side benefit. What you did to the kid classifies as assault (pointing a gun at someone is still assault correct?) just as much as me shooting an "innocent" intruder would classify as homicide, if not more so.

 

[Ken Ford]

No

I take it you never had teenagers, if you did I'm calling BS

 

[Bear44]

So finding people in your home unexpectedly is acceptable to you and then you feel the need to start to draw your weapon cause you are not sure who they are. I ask you, What is wrong with that picture.

Did we miss the part about how **** happens. The vast majority of the time I do know if they are there, but I'm not going to bet their life or mine on a perfect communications system.

 

[GeauxLSU]

You would be in prison for the rest of your life. This would not be reasonable for most juries, and your story would just give fodder to the anti 1st folks.
You have to be in real reasonable fear.

So the person suffering from dementia that thinks they are in there own home would now be dead, and in your eyes that's OK.

Yeah, no. I promise you, if I find an intruder in my home, I WILL be in fear for my life as I've already explained. If the jury thinks I'm negligent so be it. I'm more than willing to look them in the eye. I'm starting to wonder if you and Bear have a habit of wandering into people's homes uninvited and this is somehow reasonable behavior to you. Most of the stories I'm familiar with about strangers entering homes, aren't because the stranger(s) is delivering fresh baked cookies...

 

[summer44]

This is true as well, but if your only reasoning was "well they were in my house so I blasted him" I don't see that as going well in the DAs mind.

I agree, you come home find your sons new girl friend in the kitchen. You don't just blast her and get a pass cause you didn't know her and it looks like she stealing a ham sandwich.

You walk in a mistakenly u locked door a 3am and don't coward down at gun point it might not go well

 

[GeauxLSU]

So finding people in your home unexpectedly is acceptable to you and then you feel the need to start to draw your weapon cause you are not sure who they are. I ask you, What is wrong with that picture.

Exactly. This conversation is amazing. I'm going to bed. If there's a strange man up there he's probably just the plumber.