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Aguila Blanca, you're right. As I understand it, case law requires an appeal. If I'm wrong about that, please correct me.
One of the things Mr. Gutmacher stresses in his book is that deadly force can’t be used against someone who’s committing misdemeanor assault. In other words, you can’t shoot an unarmed jerk who threatens to kick your butt. Even if he punches you repeatedly, that’s still a misdemeanor.
If you’re convinced he means to inflict “serious bodily harm”, you’d better have witnesses on hand who are on your side and will back you up in court. His buddies will lie, you’ll be arrested and even if you manage to get off, it’ll cost you a whole lot of money. The average aggravated assault case starts at around $15,000 and goes up quick.
Just showing your gun is considered aggravated assault and is good for a three year mandatory prison sentence. If you shoot him and you’re convicted, it’s 25 years mandatory. That means no probation. No time off for anything. You’ll do every day of the 25 years.
After learning all this, I started carrying, in addition to my XDm 9mm and P3AT BUG, a stun gun.
FWIW, the stun gun makes a wonderful dog defense. Just buzz the stunner at him and he’ll back off quick. The noise and the crazy bright spark really do the trick.
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