when is it "ok"?

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I think a baseball bat might too if it isn't a 100 lb woman swinging the bat. Same would go for golf clubs probably.

I used to work in the emergency room of a Detroit hosptial; I've seen some 100 lb (and less!) women do a hell of a lot of damage with blunt force instruments! Deadly force would certainly be justified..at least in these cases.

One woman took a pot of hot grits and threw it on her husband as he was doing the horizontal mambo with his other lady-friend.....caused some severe 2nd degree burns!

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.....get the hell out of the way or use deadly force!

[8X56MS]

If there is someone in my house, in the wee dark hours of the night,I am going to assume he is NOT there to gift me with presents. I am also going to assume that he is armed, and intends me, or my loved ones harm. I am gonna shoot him. The cops can come and sort it out later.

Gragarat, I will be moving back up to Gainesville by the spring. If you have not lined up a place to hunt by then, I can hook you up with some fine folks around Gainesville.

[gregarat]

Ahh.. I see now why you shop at Pickets, and know Sam Andrews.

Oh no.... Theres going to be two Huntchat members in Gainesville! Bwahahaha!! Hope to see ya around man .

[fabsroman]

Mr. 16 gauge,

Can you imagine trying to explain shooting your wife in that situation. Would a jury really buy that? Assuming, for arguendo's sake, that I was in that situation, I think I would rather take the 2nd degree burns, broken bones, and bruises than shoot my wife.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Fabs;
I wasn't really refering to shooting the wife in that situation....just trying to point out the fact that small in stature does not necessarily mean that they are not a threat.
And to be quite honest, I probably would shoot someone who was trying to scald me & claim self defense. To the best of my knowledge, the law states that one can protect themselves from "death or great bodily harm". Have you ever been to a burn unit? Ever seen skin grafts....or infections resulting from skin grafts? Or the after effects (scaring) from burns? I'd think I'd take my chances with the jury.

[fabsroman]

I think I would rather take my chances jumping out the window in that situation.

Your witness will be your mistress. It will also depend on how many assets you stand to lose form a divorce, but in this "freak" occurence, your wife just happens to get shot when she walks in on you and the mistress. How many assets were titled jointly and will be going to you? How much did you "love" your wife if you were willing to pull the trigger on her?

Like I said, I would rather jump out the window from the second story than face a jury under those conditions.

As far as people of small stature potentially causing severe bodily harm, I will agree with you.

Regarding your question about having visited a burn unit, I have never done so. I was just looking at it from a legal stand point and if I would like to be the defense attorney on that case. I sure wouldn't and you can bet I would be getting a large retainer in advance of the trial.

[HANDGUNNER]

What ever you do will be questioned, no matter what you do. People who are very comfortable, warm, safe, well fed, time on their hands, not in the dark, will decide if what you did was proper.

The best advise is to keep your mouth shut for 48 hrs. following any incident and talk to an attorney. Every jurisdiction is different, every cop is different and may slant his/her report to reflect their own views of armed self defensive (unknowingly, no malice,) and every county attorney will be different.

Relatives and people who hardly knew the scumbag will come out in droves to say what a good guy he was and the gun freak who shot him is wrong or lying. It's the worst thing that can ever happen to you, short of death. Get it!

[gregarat]

Good advice!

following any incident and talk to an attorney.

and no one else.

[WyoShooter]

Ever hear the phrase,
"It's not the size of the man in the fight...It's the size of the fight in the man."
A 100 lb. woman can do a lot of damage if she wants too.

If someone were to come into my house in the dark unwelcomed I would tell them to stop and identify themself and if I didn't get an answer then I would give them a blast with my flashlight. The best thing you can do is ruin their night vision.
If I identified them as a threat wether it be they were carrying a weapon or there body posture told me they were up to no good I would take them out. Then I would call the police and then call my lawyer.

[HuntinDoc]

Brandon, I think you had better check those Texas laws again. You have no duty to retreat in your own home at any time, period. In fact you don't even have to be in the home during the night. Criminal mischief in the nightime is justification for the use of lethal force. ie. The case of an elderly gentleman in Harris county (Houston) who was robed an beaten two months in a row on the day his SS check came. The next month when the three low lifes came to visit he was sitting on his roof with a rifle and shot all three dead. They were on his property and official sun down was ~20 min prior to the shooting. No charges were filed.

Andy, Don't throw down a weapon. It doesn't matter if the shooting was justified or not. That weapon will be tested and if you are found to have placed the weapon you will be fried in court. Just tell the jury why you felt in fear of your life. If you have a good lawyer he will demonstrate how perceptions change during a life threatening situation. Tunnel vision, Lighting, that a person can cover 20 feet in less than 2 seconds etc, etc.