Drawing but NOT Firing in Self Defense

I would hope that "brandishing" a gun to (successfully) repulse an assailant would be viewed as a more restrained level of self defense.
I would definitely be the first to call the police no matter how far an armed encounter went.
 
So this is in one of those weird brackets where you COULD have a legitimate fear for your life, but if the guy says "I am going to kick your blank" and if you end up in fear and draw your weapon, a better lawyer might get YOU convicted. And this is also bearing in mind that bearing a weapon or even stating that you are armed might be enough be considered an escalation.
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I spoke to a sheriff in NC about this exact situation and in NC is a grey area. He said if the guy was much bigger than me I would probably be justified or it was a guy/girl situation. He said if the guy was my size I would have a really tough time justifying I needed a gun to the police unless the guy had a weapon or said he was going to kill me or something like that. I hate these situations. I will never pull my gun unless I have no other options and fear for my life.
 
The state of Oklahoma calls it "brandishing".

TITLE 21 § 1279 MISDEMEANOR POINTING A FIREARM

Except for an act of self-defense, it shall be unlawful for any person to point any pistol or any other deadly weapon whether loaded or not, at any other person or persons.
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So you draw the gun and the guy hreatening you runs away. That is the desired outcome.
 
I'll agree that "less lethal" options are something to be carefully considered. HOWEVER, DO NOT make the mistake of thinking anything that goes in a gun is not lethal. It is.

People have been killed by blanks! Ok, it takes just the right conditions, but it has happened.

Rubber bullets, and all the things that are sometimes called "less lethal" are really "Less likely to be lethal". They all can kill, when things go just "right" (or wrong, from the other point of view).

Another thing is the use of "deadly force", and how different places regard it. IF it comes out of a gun, the law may regard it as deadly force, no matter what it is.

OR, if it is "less lethal" ammo, you might find yourself in the legal can of worms that opens with "you chose "less lethal" ammo, because you didn't believe deadly force was justified"...and if you don't believe deadly force is justified, you are not justified in shooting, ...etc....

So your claim of self defense becomes charges against YOU for assault!

Stranger things have happened...
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Im pretty sure the "less lethal" options in mind were along the lines of OC (pepperspray) or a TASER. Something other then the pistol.
 
Im sure even though guys like George Zimmerman and Darren Wilson didnt go to prison their lives on a practical level are still ruined. Cant go out to eat anywhere, get a job, or even get noticed without constantly looking over your shoulder. Who wants to live like that?
 
if the guy was my size I would have a really tough time justifying I needed a gun
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Just to clarify my situation that I described. This guy isn't much taller than me, maybe 2 inches but I would bet that he outweighs me by at least 50 pounds and is almost 10 years younger.

He is a trainer and promoter of MMA fighters. Not sure about the rest of you but the one common trait that I can attribute to people that I've known that were wrapped up in MMA fighting, is that they were fairly volatile, aggressive, and unpredictable personalities. Nothing personal, just my observation.

Had he succeeded in dragging me through the window of my service van, I am betting I'd have been toast pretty much immediately, and I doubt he'd have practiced any self restraint.

I've never shared that story here or on any other forum, I'm not exactly proud of it. I think I've even gone as far as to say that I'd never pulled my DC on anyone in self defense in another posting here. I may not have pointed it at him, but I did produce it. Honestly I guess there's not much difference.

If I ever found myself in a similar situation, I don't think I'd hesitate to produce my DC again whether I'm proud of it or not. I just hope that if I feel compelled to produce it, I don't actually have to pull the trigger.
 
What you describe is the CLASSIC Disparity of force situation.

Larger, younger, more trained (and you knew that at the time of the incident) aggressor.
 
This seems like a really really gray line. I would think drawing a weapon based on threat and no action would never be a good thing. Heck I wonder if you would necessarily be in the right if you shot someone who started physically assualting you with no weapons other than their fists??? At what point in that scenario, assuming you were not aggressive in any manner, would you have the right to use deadly force??

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 
trucker3573 said:
This seems like a really really gray line....
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The whole area of claiming that you were justified in threatening or committing an intentional act of violence against another person is very much a gray area.

See post 23 for an overview of the law on the use of force in self defense.
 
I had the opportunity to take a MAG-40 class from Massad Ayoob last November: it was time and money very well spent. Frank Ettiin's post 23 is an outline that is consistent with what was taught.
 
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