Court Strikes Down D.C. Handgun Ban

[tycho102]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

As I always understood it, one must use equal force. In other words, a bat for a bat, gun for a gun. Armed to unarmed is not equal. If said burgular is in your house and he is unarmed, you using a weapon is frowned upon in a court of law.

Get a large dog. Best alarm out there. One bark is usually enough to ward off potential burgulary.

You make a number of interesting points.

1. My state law says I am justifed in using, but not limited to, deadly force to stop any perceived aggression -- no matter how slight -- in my home. I have the "reasonable" expectation of complete safety in my own home. Don't break into my home: It's that simple to me because I will simply not break into someone else's home.

2. Years ago, I used to go jogging around the block. Usually right around dusk. Had a run in with a dog that the people were keeping on their front porch (he had a doghouse there), which I can only assume was to ward off potential burglars (or toilet paperers [TP'ers]). I was ~.1km down the street when the dog raced out to me. It was a large dog and I'm not entirely sure of it's breed because it had just gotten dark. I drew and kept backing away, and fortunately for me (the dog too, I guess) he let me go. Another time in broad daylight when I had stopped to tie down some branches in the back of my truck, someone's dog ran out to me. I climbed onto the cab of my truck and the owner came over and retreived his dog after what was probably a minute.

That is to say, I have had more issues with large dogs than I have with people. Which is why I ended up buying a treadmill and using that, instead.

Sticks are great except when it's a +30kg pitbull or doberman. One good time is all it'll take to teach you that lesson -- I've seen videos on the internet of people who had been educated about sticks and dogs. It becomes even more critical when you're just trying to walk around the block with your wife and child, or heading down to the park playground.

3. You are equating "proportionate force" with "equal force". They are not the same -- they are different concepts. If two unarmed people attack me, in my state, I can use deadly force to stop them. If someone threatens me with a knife, I can use deadly force in response, even if the attacker is 5 meters away; the knife can be thrown.