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Alaska444 · January 27, 2012, 12:49 AM

Dear Pax,

Thank you for that example. I am a hemodialysis patient and have a blood access in my left upper arm which could easily be damaged in a fight of any sort let alone if they had a knife or something. Any damage to my blood access could end in fatal complications or require surgery and other types of procedures to stay alive on dialysis.

In addition, I heal much slower than normal so cuts and scrapes and even bruises could be devastating. I have assumed that my medical condition could be a justification for use of my weapon in the event of a single attacker larger than me. I am only 5' 6" inches since I have shrunk in my "old age" of 53.

In addition, even though I am still fairly muscular, I have very little sustained exercise tolerance at high levels for more than a little bit of time. Quite a complicated explanation dealing with oxygen utilization differences in dialysis patients, but once again, I won't have as much fight in me as someone without this medical condition even though I still have a fair amount of my strength.

I haven't seen it written anywhere before, but I have asked folks if this a viable defense against a single person who is hell bent on doing harm. I hope I never have to put it to a test, but it is something that I have thought about in the disparity of force argument of self defense. Simply put, after a very short burst, I would not have the oxygen carrying capacity to sustain a full fighting potential compared to someone else with my weight and muscle mass at my age.

If you have some case law that goes into that in detail, that would be very helpful to know in advance.

Thank you,

By the way, if you live long enough, you will become as decrepit as I already am.

January 27, 2012, 12:49 AM	#15
Alaska444 Junior member Join Date: April 3, 2010 Posts: 1,231	Dear Pax, Thank you for that example. I am a hemodialysis patient and have a blood access in my left upper arm which could easily be damaged in a fight of any sort let alone if they had a knife or something. Any damage to my blood access could end in fatal complications or require surgery and other types of procedures to stay alive on dialysis. In addition, I heal much slower than normal so cuts and scrapes and even bruises could be devastating. I have assumed that my medical condition could be a justification for use of my weapon in the event of a single attacker larger than me. I am only 5' 6" inches since I have shrunk in my "old age" of 53. In addition, even though I am still fairly muscular, I have very little sustained exercise tolerance at high levels for more than a little bit of time. Quite a complicated explanation dealing with oxygen utilization differences in dialysis patients, but once again, I won't have as much fight in me as someone without this medical condition even though I still have a fair amount of my strength. I haven't seen it written anywhere before, but I have asked folks if this a viable defense against a single person who is hell bent on doing harm. I hope I never have to put it to a test, but it is something that I have thought about in the disparity of force argument of self defense. Simply put, after a very short burst, I would not have the oxygen carrying capacity to sustain a full fighting potential compared to someone else with my weight and muscle mass at my age. If you have some case law that goes into that in detail, that would be very helpful to know in advance. Thank you, By the way, if you live long enough, you will become as decrepit as I already am.