Hey guys. Ive been lurking for a LONG time now, and i cant believe what i read on here.
Ive always played it this way - if someone is hurting you, hurt them. If someone makes you think they will hurt you, make them think it wont be easy.
Self defense (lethal force an exception) can be used within "reasonable limits". Let me explain what that means.
Im at a pool hall. My friends and i are joking around, two guys give us grief because we dress strangely to them, we give them the old roll of the eyes and go about our business.
Later, we leave, and wait for the friend driving to come out. Well, out comes the two guys, and immediately i knew what was going to happen.
We lean on car, they come up and start the typical chest thumping, and somewhere along the line one of them gives me a tap on the jaw (and i dont mean a love tap). At this point, since he has just battered me, its well within my rights to use a like amount of self defense. Since the other guy at this point jumps in on it, my friend also applies reasonable force to stop the assault.
Anyway, long story short, we scuffled for a while, and eventually won (thanks to some stomping when they were down). My driving friend was nearby watching (he doesnt fight... at all.), then called the police halfway through. We wait until they showed up, we got asked a boatload of questions, and once it was all said and done, we used a reasonable amount of self defense to stop the attackers.
Now thats unarmed. Use your head about any unsure scenarios. Are there other people there who would see what happens? If not, can YOU see a weapon? Do YOU feel genuinely threatened? If so, do whatever you have to do.
Ill start carrying in June, since although i live in MD, ive already got some documented threats to rely on for my CCW application. I dont know how well ill do while carrying, but i will say this. If i cannot defuse a situation with words, and i know im going to get hurt (Shot, punched, whatever), the peice will do the defusing. If any BG is STUPID enough to continue after the peice comes out, then i feel sorry for their family.
You can never be TOO safe about you or those you care about. If you are sure that you will go to jail for it... well... thats why its a good idea to carry a disposable knife.