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FrozenGate by Avery

Legal protection?

Three points here...

1. I don't think there anything you do that would make it legal to purposely Maim someone. Which is exactly what you would be doing with a laser.

2. If you feel threatened and cannot escape you should be looking to use deadly force. If there is an escape avenue available to you, you are expected to use it, even in your own house. Deadly force is only as a last resort.

3. If you reach the point where you feel it necessary to use deadly force, make sure you finish the job. Not only do you not want to get into the legal court battles with the 'he said/she said' crap, but once he gets outta prison you wouldn't want him coming back to get revenge. If you feel deadly force is necessary then you should not be applying anything less. But you are legally responsible to try and avoid the confrontation if at all possible.
 





WLHostage said:
But you are legally responsible to try and avoid the confrontation if at all possible.
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This is not entirely true depending on your location. If you are in Florida or Texas for example.....they have a castle law. This means that if anyone enters your premises, car, or even threatens you on the street. You have no obligation to leave. You have the right to use deadly force.

Laws very by state, but those are 2 examples.
 
Tech_Junkie said:
You must be from Texas, LOL. I dont know too many people that want the responsibility of firearm. Also most laws make it hard, and you have to have a good reason to carry.
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From Texas or Missouri.. many of the people I know carry concealed firearms, and none of them would give up that right/responsibility for anything. Especially not the ones that live in St. Louis. My city is a tough town, voted one of the most dangerous in the country for many years now. It's my hope that our legal gun-toting citizens grow in numbers so that our criminals can never tell if they'll be able to commit a crime without getting killed.
 
WLHostage said:
Three points here...

1. I don't think there anything you do that would make it legal to purposely Maim someone. Which is exactly what you would be doing with a laser.

2. If you feel threatened and cannot escape you should be looking to use deadly force. If there is an escape avenue available to you, you are expected to use it, even in your own house. Deadly force is only as a last resort.

3. If you reach the point where you feel it necessary to use deadly force, make sure you finish the job. Not only do you not want to get into the legal court battles with the 'he said/she said' crap, but once he gets outta prison you wouldn't want him coming back to get revenge. If you feel deadly force is necessary then you should not be applying anything less. But you are legally responsible to try and avoid the confrontation if at all possible.
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Depends on where you live, in New Jersey you actually have to run out of your own house and leave it to the crook.

However here in Florida, you'd be a dead man, they won't even arrest or charge you. It's called the Castle Doctrine, crime has actually been proven to have gone down because of it. For good reason too, crooks know if they enter your house they can be legally killed and even their family members can not come back and sue the home owner for shooting them, the law also provides that extra protection.

Similarly on your property you can do the same thing, as well as your car. You do not have to shot the person in your house and worry they might run out the door wounded and as some say, "drag the body back into the house".

Also you are allowed with a permit to carry a gun and you are allowed to Stand Your Ground if someone tries to attack you and in some cases others. Example; you see a women being raped; you are permitted to use deadly force to stop this and other similar Felonies.
 
Bionic-Badger said:
No, not from Texas, and I don't even own a gun. I'm just saying that if you're planning on carrying a weapon at all, especially for self-defense, it should be something that is going to "complete" the job, rather than a once-effective or exotic method of disabling an attacker. Such half-measures are liable to get you more hurt than if you just hand over the cash and let the police deal with the criminals for you.
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The Equalizer always carried a 44 Mag, and made sure they either shot 1st, or were getting ready to shoot. His response time was deftly swift and with near perfect accuracy. To this day, my favorite TV show.
 
My recommendation is this: Take a firearms self defense class from a reputable instructor. You won't likely find a laser self defense class, but I think you could easily take away some good things from the class.

For instance, one thing which really hit home for me in the classes I took is that your intent should be to stop the threat. Period. If your intent could be construed as anything else, you are open to prosecution.

In this instance, if a DA or another attorney (civil suit?) wanted to build a case against you, how would your statements here be interpreted? How would your sign? It seems like any attorney would try to construe intent from your sign in an effort to discredit you in front of a jury. I am certainly not saying that you want to do harm, but your sign clearly states the risks and you knew you could, etc. Is it really that much of a stretch to suggest you put the sign up because deep down you really wanted to use it against another person? Sure it can be argued both ways, but do you need that exposure in front of a jury that could decide your future? How will these statments be interpreted if you miss your legitimate target and injure someone else?

Good motion detectors and lighting, well trimmed bushes and visible windows will go a long way to sending a message that you are indeed watching for bad guys and ready to stop the threat should they decide to visit. Some people even use a sign from an alarm company, whether they have an alarm or not.

Protecting yourself and those around you is a huge responsibility. If you can take some training, I think you will find this a huge benefit. If not, find a few good books to read. Better yet, find an attorney who would be willing to discuss your particular situation. If this is not possible, find some resources on the web with regards to current case law. Or law lectures on youtube.

I am certainly not an expert on the matter, but thought I would share a few of my thoughts on your question. Maybe something in my random stream of conciousness will be beneficial, OTOH, YMMV. My intent certainly was not to ruffle any feathers, apologies in advance if I have done so. :yh::yh:

Cheers,
bug
 
I would say your laser sign would not help leagally. plus someone could just buy safety glasses and rob your house and not have to worry about the laser. The sign is just asking for trouble. Put in your house somewhere just as like a mantle piece or something lol. But as for signs.... you don't have to hang signs around your house saying you own firearms to be able to protect yourself so a laser sign would not be needed. It would all depend on the situation you are in. Obviously there would have to be some sort of proof that your life was in danger and so on.
 
The general rule of thumb for castle doctrine is you want to make sure the guy dies. Otherwise he is going to sue you :scowl:
 
oic0 said:
The general rule of thumb for castle doctrine is you want to make sure the guy dies. Otherwise he is going to sue you :scowl:
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Fortunately even that won't happen in FL and some other states that also have the "Stand Your Ground Law"

Here's some info on it;

The Florida law is a self-defense, self-protection law. It has four key components:

  • It establishes that law-abiding residents and visitors may legally presume the threat of bodily harm or death from anyone who breaks into a residence or occupied vehicle and may use defensive force, including deadly force, against the intruder.
  • In any other place where a person “has a right to be,” that person has “no duty to retreat” if attacked and may “meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.”
  • In either case, a person using any force permitted by the law is immune from criminal prosecution or civil action and cannot be arrested unless a law enforcement agency determines there is probable cause that the force used was unlawful.
  • If a civil action is brought and the court finds the defendant to be immune based on the parameters of the law, the defendant will be awarded all costs of defense.

You can even shot someone you seeing breaking into your car in your driveway for example, the tables are finally turning on the bad guys.

Here's a link that explains it in laymen terms with examples, it's a real eye opener (for the bad guys).

FindLaw's Writ -- Sebok: Florida's New "Stand Your Ground" Law Why It's More Extreme than Other States' Self-Defense Measures, And How It Got that Way <-click here
 
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