I'd like to cover Terry Pitman's number 3, Proportionality.
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| It this a proportional response? |
Proportionality is a difficult subject. It, like these other topics does not exist in a vacuum and is tied to other factors.
Most of us want it
to be tied to a weapon or act. "Can
I use a 12 gauge slug in my house to defend myself? Can I carry a .44 magnum for defense? Can I booby trap the inside of the barn?" You get the idea.
Actually, the last
one is the easiest. No, you can't booby
trap the barn or house and claim self-defense.
Courts have in multiple cases said, no, setting lethal or less-lethal
traps for people is illegal. Full Stop!
on that.
The best rational
for using any weapon is, it's what I had on hand when my life was placed in
lethal danger.
Proportionality also deals with disparity of
force. American law seems to want to
address fairness, two equals dealing with a problem. You wouldn't expect a profession ball team
playing grade school ball team to be considered fair, would you?
One can almost imagine
the announcer," Well, that's the third out of the first inning for the visitors,
St. Elmo soft ball team. Nine fast ball pitches by the NY Yankees and three outs,
and the Yankees are up to bat. It's
going to be a long game folks and frankly, I've had it and going home." Most of us would turn off the radio and
wonder what's going on with the Yankees.
Instead, think of
proportionality as dealing with your actions and reactions. Imagine someone running toward you in a
parking lot. A proportional response
would be to get out of the way, to put a light post or car between you and the
runner. Let's change the fact picture,
put an open knife in his hand. Is it
proportional to shoot him? Maybe, but
the better response is to get out of the way, put an object in his path, make your
weapon ready and at hand. This could be
unbuttoning a coat or reaching in and placing you hand on the weapon.
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| Getting you hand on the weapon is reasonable, but finger off trigger until it time to shoot |
Let's make it a
man with a gun. The question becomes much
more complicated. Is this a cop chasing
someone? Again, the best response is to
get something solid between you and him and get your weapon at hand.
Let's change the
fact picture. He's yelling "I'll
kill you," and you're the only person in the lot. This sound like a self-defense situation and
you should respond to it.
A man jumps in
front of your car as you drive down the road.
He has a gun. Your response? Well, most reasonable people would run him
over. When deadly force is called for,
the actual weapon becomes less important. You duck low in the front seat, hit
the horn and drive on, striking the person and running them over. Is that reasonable? I believe it is. Backing over them and then going forward
again isn't.
But you're going
to have to be able to articulate why you ran him over.
Proportionality
doesn't mean if your attacked with a golf club, you can only use a golf club to
defend yourself.
Proportionality to
me is more about the force used. Is it
deadly force? An assault by an eight-year-old
with a golf club doesn't merit the same response as an attack by an eighteen-year-old
with a nine iron.
To further
complicate this, it also depends on you.
An otherwise healthy adult, in a leg cast could be in lethal danger from
a eight-year-old with a nine iron. Again, you're going to have to be able to
explain why you were in danger and had no other option.
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| What's her proportional response? We don't know with out more context. |
People get tangled up with the size and caliber of the gun. Here too, it will come down to what you can articulate.
You: "I shot
him in self-defense when he attacked me with a knife."
Attorney:
"Why did you shoot him with a .44 magnum?"
You: "It was
the tool I had on me at the time."
Of course, it helps
if you have a reason why you carry a .44 mag.
Perhaps you live in bear country. Perhaps your other gun was at a gunsmith,
it was the only gun you had ammo for.
Have a reason for what you do, other than I felt like it.
There are many
national established authors that deal with this in greater depth. Explore some of that.
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