I read the thread about the guy that saved the womans life by killing her attacker. Carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle is legal here in AZ. We had a mentally challenged man kill two ****-Mart employees that were retrieving shopping carts. Several years ago an older man shot at a couple of robbers that were fleeing from a bar and one of his bullets killed an innocent sunbather at an adjoining motel. He went to prison and I guess he died there. Prosecutors from different Cities are unpredictable. I've tried to put myself in the predicament of being able to take out a shooter without knowing the circumstances or just waiting to see if my own safety was jeopardized. Not all prosecutes and judges are NRA members, some are left wing zealots. I know the right thing to do would to neutralize the shooter but being the present laws that attack the good guy, I don't want to spend the rest of the life I have left behind bars. It's obvious we need laws to protect those of of us that are aggressive against crime but what do you think you would do? Would you jeopardies the rest of your life to save a stranger that you perceive to be in a life threatening position? Laws protecting the law abiding just plain sucks.........IMO.

 

I have to answer the situation would dictate my actions. Colorado allows you to carry in your vehicle, but clearly for YOUR self defense. I too have pondered about the possibility of getting involved in a situation where I am not directly threatened. I carry full time since I conduct cash business out of my van all day long. Another reason I carry is having my brother murdered about 4 years ago in his driveway. As much as I hate to admit it, my brother was carrying at the time, but never had a chance to defend himself. I mention this to bring up the point being armed doesn't guarantee your successful defense. He was shot from behind, in the back of the head, and the investigators believe he never had any idea what was about to happen.

As for the guy that killed the sunbather, he was guilty in my opinion since he did not pay attention to the back round and was obviously careless. The use of deadly force demands the utmost care, regardless of how well intentioned.

You're right about the laws varying widely between jurisdictions. I suggest looking into those laws in your community/state that govern the use of deadly force. Another recommendation is to take the NRA class offered to meet the requirements for a concealed carry permit. May not answer all the questions, but it will give a lot of useful information and makes you think about these situations.

 

So is this a poll and if so what are the choices??? **first word of this thread says poll.....

 

The guy who fired at the fleeing robbers was in the wrong and deserved to go to jail. He didn't have a reason to discharge his weapon, a life was not in danger and the suspects were fleeing and he obviouslt couldnt handle his gun. Every situation requires that you stand back for a moment and think, could it just be an abusive husband and not a rapist? While both deserve to be shot, the DA will prosecute you for shooting the husband. I know a guy who is going to trail for pulling a guy off a girl he was trying to rape all because he used excessive force and put the guy in the hospital. You must always use common sense in those situations and remember to think.

 

RUN OVER THEM.

Arguably - you were ducking the shots fired at you, and could not see the attacker...

Theoretically you might be reimbursed for damage to your machine.

It's always best to use some other means if you can - it is more explainable, and guns have a bad connotation. Why add to it?

I want to be able to have guns. It doesn't mean I'm Wyatt Earp reincarnated....

 

Great reply,

I hope that fellow that saved this girl is just going to trial to be a witness against the attacker. If they prosecute this guy that stopped the attacker, I will lose what little faith I have now in our so called "justice " system. I am sure some attorney picked up on this case and sees a prize. I find it hard to believe a cop would arrest this guy for stopping a rape. geez. Hopefully his attorney will go for a jury trial and they will have the decency to toss the ridiculous case. And even if he gets off, this poor hero still has to deal with lost wages, maybe a lost job, and the personal embarassment of being put thru the justice wringer..

And in this country we often wonder how people can just keep walking /or driving on and mind their own business , when they see crimes being commited against fellow humans.

 

This thread reminds me of the old PP days, when I got in to a large debate about the pros/cons of the CCW.

I will just say again in a shorter version this time , of what I said back then. Whenever a gun comes out , the whole situation changes for the person that is holding the gun . They have instantly put themselves in a moment of time in their lives that can have a outcome , that will change their life forever. Not a decsion to be taken lightly, by any means. The sheer presence of a gun elevates the scene to a grave condition, as seen though the eyes of the police and bystanders, and they will react accordingly, whether a round is ever fired or not. all jmo

 

It would definitely depend on the situation. First of all, I don't carry...YET.

But a little prudence would go a long way, as already described...

If I had witnessed the stabbing, I would have located an "equalizer" as quickly as possible and attempted to stop the assailant. A gun would have obviously made the choice easier.

 

Agreed,

The CCW man walked in to a terrible situation, and we dont know how that come about 100% , or the details. A persons first instinct is to stop what is happening in attacks against people. When a person is stabbing a victim lying down, the very next stab can be the fatal one. The man had less then a hundreth of a second to choose the gun, which stopped the stabbing instantly, or run and get a 2x4 over in the lumber department. A no brainer really if , we are getting the whole story.

 

Exactly! If I'd been in the situation and been carrying, I'd have done (hopefully) the same thing. The guy is a DEFINITE HERO in my book!

 

i have been there, and responded basically the same way numerous times, except i only had to pull the trigger once. and then i missed on purpose, hitting a window frame instead, blowing the window out of the garage. usually just the sight of a gun is enough to make the bad guy give up. most of them are cowards, preying on others they know can not defend themselves. that is the reason why where ever CCW laws are in effect, the rate of violent crime dramaticly drops, and where gun ownership is baned or restricted, violent crime dramaticly increases. bad guys are not going to confront someone who is possably armed and going to fight back.

 

You should know the rules if you have a ccw permit. Our classes spend lots of time explaining the legal issues of carry & when you can use it legally. I carry but I hope I never get into a position where I have to shoot. It is better to have a gun when you need it than to need one & its at home.

 

on a very different scale. When i was at school, i witnessed a drunk guy shoving round this girl, dunno who they were to each other, if anything, i went up to him and asked him to stop. Of course, being totally trashed as he was he didn't. Asked him one more time and explained to him i'd make him. He continued, he ended up on the floor. Ppl gathered, a bouncer came up and i thought he'd be calling the cops. Talk about freaking out. Ppl exlained to him and the night went on. To answer the initial question, i'd get involved with smaller ordeals, but i dont' think i'd shoot at someone without fully understanding what was going on. jUst cuz someone's running from a building don't mean they diserve to be shot.

Keith

 

Depends on the situation. If it is a split second decision like the stabbing or the Wal-Mart shooter then yes, but if it is an unknown I would call the cops.

I think that you have to very cognitive of what and who is around you. The domestic abuse victim could turn on you and then you are in a very bad situation. The number one call that injures officer is Domestic Violence. This society is way too litigious and you can go from hero to goat really quickly.

 

In Maryland, there is a law that states that YOU can use whatever force is available to the person being attacked.

In other words, IF a person had available a firearm for their use in defense, then yes, you can use a firearm to defend that person.
IF the 'attackee' has access to a baseball bat, then you are only allowed to use that baseball bat to defend the 'attackee'.
(Maryland has some strange laws.)

The exact name of that law, I'm not sure of, but, the generic name is 'In Defense of Others Law'.
(I learned of this law while on Grand Jury Duty, where one police officer was 'up on charges' for shooting someone that was 'believed to be' pointing a firearm at another police officer. That 'perp' had already fired shots at the police during a 'not-so-high speed' chase.) The police officer that shot the 'perp' could not see the hands of the 'perp.'

In the end, the police officer was NOT charged.

And yes, I would intervene. I did intervene in a 'situation' a loooooonnnnnnng time ago, and got stabbed because of it. Not badly. I still was able to stop the attack.