Thursday, February 23, 2012

Meanwhile, In New Hampshire


Legally armed homeowner catches thief, is jailed for firing warning shot

We live in surreal times!

2 comments:

WC said...

What I learned in my CCW class. If you own a gun legally and use it to protect yourself, you better use it with intent to kill. If not, you can be arrested. The only defense you have for firing at or intentionally wounding a perp is that you intended to shoot to kill to stop him from killing you - but missed. That is, you can only fire your gun if you believe that your LIFE is in danger. Like the saying goes, I's rather be judged by 12 men than carried by 6.

midnight rider said...

That actually varies a bit from state to state now. Pennsylvania enacted/strengthened their Castle Doctrine & Stand You ground laws recently. In the most recent case, a 65 year old man shot 2 teens who were attacking him. 1 survived, the other did not. But he cannot be chaged nor sued in either case because of the new legislation.

In Pa. it is shoot to stop the attack. As long as you have a right to be where you are when you are attacked there is no longer a duty to retreat, whether in your home or on the street. BUT, as soon as the attack stops, whether the perp is dead or not, you must stop shooting or you cross the line.

Here's the Reading Pa. self defense story.

The downside is not all states think this way. A legal shooting like this in Reading could land you in real trouble in Chicago. Or D.C.