Protecting Others With CCW License

[steveo-85]

I have my license to carry and always do carry and am more than ready to protect myself against a deadly attack ,but.... here is the question....can i protect the life of a complete stranger if there life is being takin in front of me with no apparent danger to myself. Am i supposed to just watch or can i legally defend this person ? Just something i was thinking about and would like to be ready shall the time come..

what would you do ??

I have misplaced my Law book that was gave to me years ago in my CCW class so this is what i am asking.

 

[blutch]

The textbook answer is if they are not a family member, no. If for instance you come upon an attack and haven't seen it all from the very beginning.. you could very well be protecting the bad guy and shooting the good guy. This has happened.

However, the practical answer is, if you are close enough to an attack to engage, it MIGHT be arguable that you were also in imminent danger.

I think about this all the time.. shooter is on a rampage in a gym or office building... do I wait for this person to shoot several innocent people before trying to do something or do I run away or do I try to stop the killing... tough call to make sitting in the recliner.

I'm very interested in this and am looking forward to the discussion that ensues. Great question.

B

 

[SMS]

Textbook answer is yes you can...even if it's not a family member:

"A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and 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 or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony."

But as blutch said...how can you be 100% certain that the victim is, in fact, the victim.

 

[blutch]

SMS - I wonder if the bolded part is contingent on "who is attacked" earlier in the statement? If you run to a situation to help someone else, are you being attacked?

Thanks for quoting the SDA - This is a great discussion topic.

B

 

[ldmtulsa]

According to the wording in the law, you have the right to protect yourself, your wife, children, mother and father. Having just taken the CCW class 3 weeks ago, the instructor offered a few examples. If you are in a restaurant and someone comes in with a gun pointed at anyone in the restaurant, you yourself are in eminent danger because of your presence and have the right to defend yourself. If you happen to be in a building and see out the window that someone is pointing a gun at one of your friends, if you yourself are not in eminent danger you do not have the right to to shoot. Hope this helps.

 

[SMS]

SMS - I wonder if the bolded part is contingent on "who is attacked" earlier in the statement? If you run to a situation to help someone else, are you being attacked?

Thanks for quoting the SDA - This is a great discussion topic.

B

Perhaps, another murky part of the SDA...but if it requires that you yourself be attacked, then there would be no need to mention the use of deadly force to prevent bodily harm to "another".

ldmtulsa, what wording are you referring to? I see no mention of deadly force only being authorized in defense of family....

 

[bigcountryok]

I was once told by an attorney that you get the defense of those you defend. So as others have said, know exactly what the situation is, who you are defending, and why you are defending them.

 

[steveo-85]

According to the wording in the law, you have the right to protect yourself, your wife, children, mother and father. Having just taken the CCW class 3 weeks ago, the instructor offered a few examples. If you are in a restaurant and someone comes in with a gun pointed at anyone in the restaurant, you yourself are in eminent danger because of your presence and have the right to defend yourself. If you happen to be in a building and see out the window that someone is pointing a gun at one of your friends, if you yourself are not in eminent danger you do not have the right to to shoot. Hope this helps.

This makes alot of since, If your close enough to help, your close enough to be in danger... thanks for the replies people ..

 

[rwillis]

If u do then u are stepping in there shoes if they are the Bad guy then u be come the bad gay also.

 

[aestus]

Basically it boils down to this. If the danger comes to you or those listed in the SDA handbook, you're good.

However, if it's a situation where the target is not a threat to you or those listed in the handbook and you willfully bring yourself into danger and present yourself the target to play hero for a complete stranger, then you are in the wrong.