Though the laws vary from State to State, theirs Case law and Statute law,the one post concerning Ability,Intent,and Opportunity are tied into the Statute,the more familiar one is with Both of these,the better,and those case laws can be modified. I've been carrying 16 years,16 hrs a day,and only twice did i have to put my hand on a gun but didn't raise it or point it at the person but showed the butt when i went through 2 Death threats,where at first they had Ability,intent and Opportunity at first,but the last one was starting to go away,so i did not escalate it....the if you draw you better shoot,i'd advise against...if you can,get distance and retreat,even if your not bound to retreat,such as in a house or at a place of employment where not bound to retreat(this means if the person at the employment accosting you has a Legal right also to work there),retreating is best in all times (unless cornered and you can't)......the right to draw is not a right to shoot by the law.......A avoid the neighborhood or threat,even if the shoot would be justifiable in a bad neighborhood,you go in there on purpose knowing,it and the detectives will ask,the (Well its america and i have aright to go where i want),Retreat also can mean a PRedetermined mindset to avoid where you think their is a heightened threat,but take no precautions as a prudent and reasonable person would....the law says....Ability,Intent and Opportunity,and more get into trouble with having the first 2 without the third.....the opportunity wasnt there by the law,but was just FELT......reasonable and prudent doesn't mean what WE FEEL it is,its if it lines up with the Statutes and Case law.... one would need All 3,i agree with the last post ,yet one of another group of 4 HAS to be present to go with the First 3/of 3.......REalistic threat of Murder,kidnapping,rape,or grave/bodily injury OR ANY 1 or more of those to injure another that you may defend at no GREATER degree than your own(=that they could do if they had the gun to defend themselves)....Even if the circumstances have the 3/3 intent,etc......and 1 or more of the other 4,this satisfies the statutes if the defendant is not Able to mitigate by surrending a Thing or by retreating.....(forget defense of property even when allowed,a prosecutor can ask one question,though allowed,was the penalty of stealing your tv punishable in court with execution,if you say no,then excessive force could still be brought up at least,if you say yes,then why aren't all thefts arrests executed in courts today?...That last one opportunity is the hardest to discern,Example,
a man breaks into your house saying he will rape your wife and kill you and cripple your kids after he kidnaps them,threating all 4 of the first 4,then has intent and ability to do so as he comes in with a bat.....Rather than firing off the get go,thinking better him than us,Instead you retreat to a safe room provided their is distance and say stop i really don't want to shoot you,or i don't want any trouble,don't panic thinking you have no time,sometimes you do(i don't mean a carjack with a knife already 1 inch from your throat with your gun in hand) and the guy in the house about to attack ,the opportunity it seemed he had starts to go away as he freezes and doesn't leave but doesn't advance.........the if i draw,i shoot philosophy has a weakness there.......or even more so what if he starts backing down but you shoot just from fear and instinct,and turns around and gets shot near or in the back.......Some may say well he shouldn't have come in its his own fault,but a judge may not feel that way,so warnings are good first,the proof is cops mostly always do it......stop or we will shoot......they dont shoot then ask questions later,unless shot at or attacked with a knife and unless its a gun they go against they warn....even sometimes with a gun against them if its not pointed at them,they give one chance to drop it,then if they don't ,then they get Shot.Forgive me for this long post,i'd like to finish with this: the Closest call i had was this,i'll list in in the next post for those who are interested.