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Old November 21, 2012, 07:54 PM   #155
TennJed
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Join Date: September 26, 2010
Posts: 1,536
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldMarksman View Post
See below.

Could have=speculation.

If...if...could.... Here's the rub: everyone one meets in a remote park might grab a kid or charge. Someone sitting on a bench with his clothing open and occupied with himself, however abnormal that behavior may be, most probably constitutes less of a threat of imminent danger of physical harm than someone casting furtive glances at the child, looking around, and continuing to approach.

But you cannot draw on them until you have some indication that it is immediately necessary to do so, or you will likely go to jail.

The lady here may well have had that indication; we weren't there. But one cannot go around drawing on people because of that they might do, or what "could happen", or because they are behaving abnormally. That's been true for centuries, screen fiction notwithstanding.

One may lawfully use force, or deadly force, and in some jurisdictions such as Washington State and a few others, display a firearm, when it is necessary to do so to protect and defend, but not to administer justice, or to indicate disapproval for abnormal behavior, or to take into account what could happen.

The key word is necessary---immediately necessary. The old formula of A, O, J, and P applies well, except that when the threshold is to defend against "presently threatened unlawful physical force" as it is here, "Ability" is defined differently from its traditional meaning in the context of self defense.
I don't think anyone here is advising on drawing their weapon on anyone they think might be dangerous. This man crossed a line. There is no question that he is mentally unstable and that he was fixed on this lady.

An obviously unstable man making threatening sexual gestures is quite a bit different than the average person you meet on the street that looks bad. What he was doing up the chances that the "what if" and "might"

. His actions were much more than abnormal. You are comparing this to normal day to day strangeness. This is much more than your abnormal behavior. 99% of SD situations involve some degree of what if. Is that really a gun in his pocket? You have to make quick decisions. His actions were a clear indication of a man that is more than abnormal

I might agree with your argument if she pulled the trigger. In this case she did what was the safest thing for her and her child when put in a situation that is much worse than normal
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