[RL357Mag]

Originally Posted by matt g

A motor vehicle has been proven, in a court of law, to be a deadly weapon when used as such.

That's true - but you are not allowed to shoot someone for stealing one of those deadly weapons...unless he is trying to run you over with it! And I suspect proving that, short of having tread marks up your ass, would be difficult at best...not like planting a weapon on someone that you had to shoot..that would be much easier...

[matt g]

Originally Posted by RL357Mag

That's true - but you are not allowed to shoot someone for stealing one of those deadly weapons...unless he is trying to run you over with it! And I suspect proving that, short of having tread marks up your ass, would be difficult at best...not like planting a weapon on someone that you had to shoot..that would be much easier...

You actually can in many states. Unfortunately, neither of us are in one. IIRC, the Castle Doctrine applies to your vehicles in Castle Doctrine states.

[hydrashok]

Originally Posted by matt g

I should add it to my signature, so it is in every post that I make, there are at least two sides to every story.

There are at least THREE sides to every story... your side, my side, and what REALLY happened...

[jtmat]

Originally Posted by RL357Mag

In most states you are not allowed to "brandish" a gun or shoot someone unless you are in a position to either defend your life or if you are staving-off an armed attack. In NY I am not allowed to shoot anyone that isn't shooting at me. And protecting property is no excuse either - if I see someone breaking into my car or driving off in it I am not allowed to shoot him or at him. If someone breaks into my house at night I am not allowed to shoot him unless he is armed and threatens me with bodily harm. I was told this by the cop who issued me my permit. Would I comply? I doubt it!

I might be wrong, but I won't kill someone for stealing my car unless I'm in it.

I would also never pull a gun that I did not intend to use. When I pull my gun, the trigger is being pulled as the gun is leveling off. Their last words should be, "What is that flash?"

Only an idiot would brandish a gun. First, I DON'T want ANYONE to know I have a gun. I want to keep that knowledge to myself until the last second.

IMO, brandishing a gun takes more away than you gain....

And killing someone, even if they are a POS is not worth it as they are driving away in your car. Even if you believe you should, what about the kid in the window as your bullet ricochet off the back glass? Oh, yea, you are sure that won't happen....

The car is gone, get insurance next time.

[hical]

I think brandishing your gun can have either have good or bad situations.
If a mugger with a knife finds you late at night in a dark alley and says "gimme your wallet" then maybe brandishing your gun would probably scare the attacker away, or you can just shoot em if he is putting you in imminent danger.


But, say you brandish your gun and the other guy at the end of the barrel has a gun to? I guess it would just end up like the old wild west and i guess the faster gun would win? which is not good since the person who brandished their gun first would be at fault.


I say it would probably put you in a very dangerous situation by brandishing your firearm. Dont draw unless you plan on shooting the other person when you have no other choice and when your life is on the line.

[G21.45]

I never brandish a gun when a cell phone will do!

[hydrashok]

I just want to throw my $.02 in... why? Because I can

First of all, there have been a lot of 'absolutes' in the opinions expressed here. Unfortunately, there really aren't any absolutes when it comes to dealing with firearms and our justice system. Otherwise, some people would be in prison right now, and some would have never gone. I can't say ABSOLUTELY whether I would shoot someone for stealing my car. I don't have the insurance because I can't afford it because too many people WOULDN'T shoot people for stealing THEIR cars. My family currently has only one vehicle, and if you steal that, you steal my livelihood.

Now... on to "brandishing". Again, there have been many 'absolutes', but there is no absolutes in dealing with self defense, etc. Let's first dispense with some definitions and conceptions. Brandishing a firearm means pulling it out and waving it around. It's a stupid thing to do. Presenting a firearm means drawing it out from concealment and assuming a defensive posture... from being at low ready to taking aim. Presenting a firearm constitutes the use of deadly force. Can you present your firearm? Sure... as long as you are already authorized/justified in using deadly force. Does it mean you HAVE to shoot? No.

It's quite difficult to justify displaying a firearm while in a moving vehicle. If you're in a vehicle that's moving, you are already set up with an escape mechanism. You can't really "present" a firearm while in a moving vehicle if you're the driver, so it's best to just keep it handy and slow down enough to make evasive maneuvers or minimize injury should the attackers become aggressive enough to bump into you, but go fast enough to avoid looking like you want to stop for a real confrontation. Defensive driving is all about you, not them.

I'm sure that last paragraph doesn't sound like I want it to... maybe I should stop posting at 2am???