I just took my class over the weekend and from what I heard its going to be a big pain if your ass if you pull the trigger. Even if you or your loved one is being beat or stabbed; If you elect to pull the trigger and you kill the bad guy, you are going to be facing a lot of court time and the cost will be enormous! Even if you win the criminal case, you are not going to win the civil case. You are going to have the bad guys mom, dad, sister, uncle, aunt etc. suing you for wrongful death.
WhooHoo we all have guns and can carry them but, your ass is grass if you elect to protect yourself or a loved one, and this may sound cold but helping a third party almost seems out the question. The odds are completely against you when helping out a third party. We'd all be better off leaving the gun at home and taking an ass whoopin or getting stabbed. At least if you have insurance that will cover most of the cost and if you dont have insurance the state can't deny you medical attention.
If you pull the trigger you are in deep shit. This isnt the movies were the scene skips all the legal stuff and its a happy ending. this is real life and if you take someone else's no matter the situation you are in for years of heartache. The story will end a hell of a lot better if you are a victim, rather than an unsung hero.
The only way that gun on your hip is going to benefit you is if some shiz is going down and you draw your weapon and it allows you or whoever is near enough time to get away. You pull the trigger and you are no longer a victim. You are a murderer or you attempted to murder the man trying to rob or ultimately murder you.
Yeah, I know its easy to say that I will let the jury work it out but, there is a defense team who's job it is to convince the jury that you could have done something else. That is there sole job!
I am at complete odds with this whole carrying a gun notion. Its almost as if the criminal has more rights than we do. Maybe because we have more to loose than a scumbag that has nothing to loose. Then if you kill him you are mark by all your peers as the guy that killed another and, thats something you have to wake up and go to bed every night with that moment you pulled the trigger on your mind until you die!
Sorry for the rant, my dog just pissed on the floor
Well I have seen folks legally fire their weapon and hit an intruder or attacker and be no billed by a grand jury, thats not to say you wont have legal expenses, but thats better than being dead. At least they get to go see their families again.
I think the whole "heat" in this thread was that under certain circumstances you can legally draw you weapon in self defense and not legally have the right to pull the trigger. That is CHL 101....if some folks think that if they draw they are justified in shooting everytime, they are entitled to their opinion. Their opinion may not hold water in court but some folks will just have to learn that the hard way.
I try to keep an open mind, I hope my fellow 2A backers do the same.