Really big Luger question!!

[wterrell]

AGE,

Whenever I was younger, I would not have undersood your concern. But, as you have, I have been witness to the followers of Charles Manson, Jim Jones, David Karesh, and Bill Clinton.

It is kind of scary!

[Thor]

<img src="graemlins/offtopic.gif" border="0" alt="[offtopic]" /> Very true AGE, you are required to try and AVOID shooting someone, but in your house you do have a little leeway as theoritically you are being threatened as long as they (or he) are in there. I know of a personal situation, one of my ex bosses daughter was enrolled in College and away from home. Some drug crazied, we can only assume, male instructed her in a very loud beligerent voice to open the door,cursing and call her bad names. She told him, he probably mistook her for someone else and that she didnt know him. She got on the phone to police and told him so. He then proceeded to break the door down, he was hitting it hard, but she didnt believe he would get in, then the door swung in and she grabbed a pair of scissors that were nearby. He lunged at her and she stabbed in the upper torso and he let go of her, but immediately started getting up and coming for her again. She couldnt get passed him to leave the apartment so she retreated to a bedroom and locked the door. At this point the police are on their way. She tells him to leave and that they are coming. She also retrieves a 20 guage shotgun given to her by her father. She tells him to leave, and she has a gun. This guy proceeds to bash in the bedroom door and with the scissors in his hand and with lethal intent upon the woman he breaks the door down and comes for her. She convinces him with the shotgun that is a very bad idea by killing him. I dont think she ever found out why she was targeted by I suppose a young single women living alone was the reason. A sad story, but at least she had the presence of mind to survive and she was not afraid to shoot. She had retreated as far as humanly possible before the weapon was fired. She was not charged. Thor

[wterrell]

tacfoley,

That story disturbed me so much that my side hurts.

And it was 'well-told'.

[AGE]

In Thor's case the young lady was defending herself every step of the way. She wouldn't even be in trouble in NY, NY (unless the shotgun were unlicensed). Even Getz was cleared of everything except carrying illegally.

In tacfoley's case the shooter would have served time in most states.

Even in Thor's case if the man had retreated out the door when the lady got the shotgun and she popped him in the yard, she would be in deep doo-doo.

Be safe, be prepared to defend yourself--but don't be stupid or you may end up in trouble. I've had CCW permits in 3 states (one at a time) over the last 35 years--no problems and don't want any in the future.

[Thor]

AGE is right about the US laws, most laws read that you must be in threat of your life or some else's life must be threatened for you to use deadly force. Once the threat is over you must back off, at least here. You cannot for example blow some punk away that is stealing your TV set, not in NM anyway, you would see jail time probably. Even the police will get in trouble for violating this premise.

[wterrell]

Here in Colorado, we have a "make my day" law. This gives a lot of leeway in the interpretation of the intent of the intruder. The stupid lawsuits of intruders against the homeowner for injury during an intrusion does not happen here.

[Jimbo]

Wes,

What, no pineapple grenades in the arsenal? <img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" />

[wterrell]

In consideration of the intruder's (most probably) harsh upbringing and abuse as a child,
we have left off the indiscriminate use of grenades and booby traps.

After all!...this is the West, where men are men, and the women are.....well, the women are men, too!