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Skiprr wrote:Just a note to say that, lately, we've seen a number of posts talking about fear of one's life as a justification for the use of deadly force.

I'm not a lawyer (one may come around shortly), but I've had it explained to me multiple times that one's subjective, emotional state is not a defense to prosecution. In fact, in telling first-responders what happened, one of the last things you want to do is make it seem your actions were based on emotion, not rational thought.

If you look through all the applicable sections of the Penal Code, you will not find the word "afraid" anywhere, and the only use of the word "fear" appears in PC §42.01. (Disorderly Conduct) in (a)(e) which reads "It is a defense to prosecution for an offense under Subsection (a)(7) or (9) that the person who discharged the firearm had a reasonable fear of bodily injury to the person or to another by a dangerous wild animal as defined by Section 822.101, Health and Safety Code."

I don't mean to derail the topic, but this has to be the third or fourth one I've read since the beginning of the year that has posts talking about "fear of one's life" as a standard for the use of deadly force. I personally think it's important for all of us to be well-versed in PC §9, and it says nothing at all about your emotional state. PC §9 is pretty clear, and it all centers around what "the actor reasonably believes...was immediately necessary."

Until Charles, a DA, or a criminal attorney comes along to set me straight, I think we all need to wipe the words "fear" and "afraid" from our vocabularies. Not only does that sound like a good motivational speaker line but if you ever, God forbid, need to use your gun, it had better not be because you were merely afraid. It had better be because you believed that it was absolutely necessary for you to do so.

Just my humble opinion. I know it may seem like nitpicking, but we've had a lot of new members sign-up the past few months, and I don't want any of them to get the wrong idea about the "in fear of my life" thing.

AndyC wrote:If they don't pose a threat, let them go.

I had an incident when I was younger and sharing a house in Cape Town with 4 (very liberal) students who loathed the fact that I had firearms - then came the night that one of them, the most anti- girl woke me up in a state, saying someone was breaking into her car. I got out my CZ75 and went flying out the door and scared the heck out of the guy, who then took off down the street with her car-radio in his mitts.

"Shoot him! Shoot him!" she was shrieking.

"I can't!" I yelled back.

"He's got my radio - shoot him!" she wailed.

So she and I had a pretty heated ... discussion, let's say... about the value of someone's life vs a few hundred bucks' worth of stuff.

Dang antis.

AndyC wrote:If they don't pose a threat, let them go.

I had an incident when I was younger and sharing a house in Cape Town with 4 (very liberal) students who loathed the fact that I had firearms - then came the night that one of them, the most anti- girl woke me up in a state, saying someone was breaking into her car. I got out my CZ75 and went flying out the door and scared the heck out of the guy, who then took off down the street with her car-radio in his mitts.

"Shoot him! Shoot him!" she was shrieking.

"I can't!" I yelled back.

"He's got my radio - shoot him!" she wailed.

So she and I had a pretty heated ... discussion, let's say... about the value of someone's life vs a few hundred bucks' worth of stuff.

Dang antis.

bdickens wrote:Um. Why not shoot the guy before handing over your wallet?

57Coastie wrote:Taking a life is not funny.