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But Your Honor! Part 5

June 07, 2026

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Number 4) Avoidance: Do you live in a stand your ground state or a duty to retreat state? Not every retreat has to be as disastrous as Napoleon's from Moscow Let me suggest, that avoidance starts with some folksy wisdom. Don't go stupid places. Don't associate with stupid people, and don't play stupid games. Avoiding these situations will go a long way to preventing serious life changing events. Don't let ego involve you with things you don't need to be. Anytime you can avoid violence, you are ahead of the game. Your family will not see you as their champion if you shoot someone. Your co-worker will not rally around you. You yourself, assuming you’re a normal, moral person, will have issues. Tactically, the battle you don't have to fight is a battle won. Duty to retreat. Some states have that restriction. But most of us forget the conditional phrase that goes with it: if you ca...

But Your Honor! Part 3

I'd like to cover Terry Pitman's number 3, Proportionality. 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 addre...

But Your Honor! Part 5

It's been a long trip to Terry Pitman's #5 Reasonable: Your actions and decisions must be both subjectively and objectively reasonable. Every state and city will have different ideas about reasonable. The jury, often called the reasonable man, will decide. But how do you make a reasonable response at that moment of self-defense? This is a training issue. Make time to get professional training. I can't tell you the number of times I've told armed citizens that they can't shoot someone simply running away with their possessions. Is this a reasonable tool for self-defense? Maybe...It depends... Have a reason grounded in reality for everything you do. You don't have to be perfect, but having determined that AOJ exists, is a great start. Remem...

But Your Honor! Part 2

I'm not one to ignore the potential of other people's ideas. Terry Pitman's list of the five elements needed to survive the self-defense legal challenges is interesting. Imminent danger, agree? They are: 1) Innocent: not the initial aggressor, 2) Imminence: the threats must be happening now or immediately about to happen , 3) Proportionality: the force you use must not be greater than the force used against you, 4) Avoidance: do you live in a stand your ground state or a duty to retreat state, 5) Reasonable: your actions and decisions must be both subjectively and objectively reasonable. Number 1, Innocence, was covered in a previous posting. Let's talk about number 2, Imminence. I find it interesting that imminence and avoidance are linked. Avoidance is a great option and I'll have some ideas later. I...

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