"Now, with this little tidebit of knowledge, do you still feel that I was wrong in what I wrote? I did at least give them the benefit to leave the property and would only fire if they moved toward me. You see, with a man who has a history of violent assault, and the girlfriend with a history of assault, I felt that my response was justified."
No, Wayne I must respectfully disagree with you and even more so given the latest facts. Why would you feel the need to go out alone and possibly outnumbered and expose yourself to a possible deadly encounter. I would call the police and wait patiently in the safety of my house for them to respond and remove these characters from my property. I would charge them with trespassing and add to their criminal record. That would make their probation officer happy as well. This is not the old west. Your tax money partly goes for funding a law enforcement agency to take care of these things so you don't have to. Put the liability on them and let them take care of these situations for you. Now don't get me wrong. I am in favor of firearm ownership, self defense, and the sanctity and security of ones home and property. I believe if someone comes onto your property armed looking for you it is time to act to protect yourself. If someone breaks into your home while you are inside, it is time to act to protect yourself. But, if you look out the window and see a drunk, bum, or any undesirable person hanging out on your property. Call the police if it is going to require anything more than a friendly reminder to move along. I just don't agree with pulling a gun on someone who is not armed just for being in my yard or on my property. Now, am I going to check things out unarmed? No. And Wayne, if I had neighbors like yours I would watch them with both eyes and be armed always. But I would try to avoid putting myself in a bad position if at all possible.
"One thing to at least consider, is when we wait for our life to be in eminant danger of serious bodily harm or death - it's probably too late in a lot of cases... What's the definition of this anyway? "
Well that unfortunately is the way it is when you are in a defensive mode like the good guys almost always are. The guy in the offensive mode knows what he is going to do, may have planned it and rehearsed it. You have to be able to recognize and anticipate dangerous behavior before it is too late. No doubt you are behind the reactionary curve, but that is just the way it is for the good guys.
Firearms have their place and that is usually very near my hand, but the smart call is always to avoid a problem and call the cops if you can. I know I will hear a few of the old, I called the cops and they didn't do anything or they just came and hassled me or whatever. Call them and if you are not satisfied with the service you got, call a supervisor and give them some feedback. Otherwise, I see some of you guys making a bunch of trouble for yourselves needlessly.
No, Wayne I must respectfully disagree with you and even more so given the latest facts. Why would you feel the need to go out alone and possibly outnumbered and expose yourself to a possible deadly encounter. I would call the police and wait patiently in the safety of my house for them to respond and remove these characters from my property. I would charge them with trespassing and add to their criminal record. That would make their probation officer happy as well. This is not the old west. Your tax money partly goes for funding a law enforcement agency to take care of these things so you don't have to. Put the liability on them and let them take care of these situations for you. Now don't get me wrong. I am in favor of firearm ownership, self defense, and the sanctity and security of ones home and property. I believe if someone comes onto your property armed looking for you it is time to act to protect yourself. If someone breaks into your home while you are inside, it is time to act to protect yourself. But, if you look out the window and see a drunk, bum, or any undesirable person hanging out on your property. Call the police if it is going to require anything more than a friendly reminder to move along. I just don't agree with pulling a gun on someone who is not armed just for being in my yard or on my property. Now, am I going to check things out unarmed? No. And Wayne, if I had neighbors like yours I would watch them with both eyes and be armed always. But I would try to avoid putting myself in a bad position if at all possible.
"One thing to at least consider, is when we wait for our life to be in eminant danger of serious bodily harm or death - it's probably too late in a lot of cases... What's the definition of this anyway? "
Well that unfortunately is the way it is when you are in a defensive mode like the good guys almost always are. The guy in the offensive mode knows what he is going to do, may have planned it and rehearsed it. You have to be able to recognize and anticipate dangerous behavior before it is too late. No doubt you are behind the reactionary curve, but that is just the way it is for the good guys.
Firearms have their place and that is usually very near my hand, but the smart call is always to avoid a problem and call the cops if you can. I know I will hear a few of the old, I called the cops and they didn't do anything or they just came and hassled me or whatever. Call them and if you are not satisfied with the service you got, call a supervisor and give them some feedback. Otherwise, I see some of you guys making a bunch of trouble for yourselves needlessly.