View Single Post
Old May 4, 2012, 09:53 PM   #36
JohnKSa
Staff
 
Join Date: February 12, 2001
Location: DFW Area
Posts: 24,975
Quote:
No. It is not brandishing in your state.
Correct, because there isn't really any offense called "brandishing" in the TX Penal Code.

What he did was one of two things. He either intentionally carried without concealing, which is an offense, or he "used force", per the section of the penal code I quoted. Using force is not illegal, in and of itself, but it does have to be done with sufficient legal justification to be legal. Just like deadly force can only be used legally with sufficient legal justification. The difference is that force can be more easily legally justified under the TX Penal Code than deadly force can.
Quote:
But how would the driver or police establish that his actions were intentional?
For the sake of argument, if he were to claim (for example) that he was twisting in his seat to see the tailgating vehicle and the shirt blew up accidentally, then there is no intent to display and therefore no offense.

However, because he's explicitly stated that he intentionally displayed the gun, it's sort of a moot point for this discussion.

Even if the police could prove his actions were intentional, he could still legally justify his actions if he were able to convince whatever arm of the legal system he happened to run afoul of that the other person was using or attempting to use unlawful force and that he felt he had no other option but to immediately flash his gun.
__________________
Do you know about the TEXAS State Rifle Association?
JohnKSa is offline  
 
Page generated in 0.02943 seconds with 8 queries