question on firearms carry for personal defense

[rocket5979]

ok this is my question. first off as a disclaimer i want to just say that i dont plan on going trigger happy on anyone or waving my handgun around for no reason. i want to know what the legalities are for carrying a handgun in my car for personal defense. also say for instance someone came up to my car or where i was parked and tried to cause me or anyone of my passengers bodily harm, what can i do? could i legally draw my gun detain him and then call the cops? and wait for them to come? i am asking this not because i think it will happen or anything but to at least be mentally armed as to what my rights are to protect myself when dealing with this type of situation.

 

[FordSVTFan]

Originally posted by rocket5979
ok this is my question. first off as a disclaimer i want to just say that i dont plan on going trigger happy on anyone or waving my handgun around for no reason. i want to know what the legalities are for carrying a handgun in my car for personal defense. also say for instance someone came up to my car or where i was parked and tried to cause me or anyone of my passengers bodily harm, what can i do? could i legally draw my gun detain him and then call the cops? and wait for them to come? i am asking this not because i think it will happen or anything but to at least be mentally armed as to what my rights are to protect myself when dealing with this type of situation.

To be perfectly honest with you, you would have to check with your state to see what their guidelines are. Here in the Northeast, it is next to impossible for a non Law Enforcement Officer to get a CCW. But the southern states are a lot more relaxed about it.

As for legalities, your best bet is to check with a lawyer. The NRA's website should have most of your answers as well. But to be most accurate check with your state on rules and requirements.

The Lautenberg law makes it illegal for people with a misdemeanor conviction of domestic violence to possess a handgun. And any convicted felon may not under federal law possess any gun.

The general rule with regards to use of force is simple. First you must exhaust all avenues of avoiding the situation and try to flee. Then and only then(when you can not flee the situation)it is appropriate to use a force equal to that of the person attempting to cause harm.

As for detaining the person for police. That is called making a citizens arrest and that can be dangerous. If you physically detain someone(by force or other means) regardless of if you are waiting for the police, you are responsible. There have been numerous cases of big time civil suits filed against those who have unjustly detained others in the name of justice.

Lastly, let me give you the same advice I give my family and friends. Don't carry a firearm. It just isnt worth it. The vast majority of times it will only cost you. Whether you inadvertantly harm someone else, someone who is innocent, or have the weapon used against you and your family. I am trained to carry and utilize many firearms and my training is constantly ongoing. By law we qualify with each of our weapons 3x a year. But, since I am an instructor I am at the range once every two weeks on average. We train to fire under pressure, stress and duress. This is a task especially with adrenaline running and fear of the unknown. I know plenty of people that I have trained and are expert marksmen, but when you place them in a simulator with a surprise situation they are no longer experts and often hit everything other than their target.

Good Luck but make a wise and informed decision, it may cost you or someone else their lives.

 

[rocket5979]

thanks for the input. i know that state laws are sometimes vastly different even from bordering states let alone to different regions of the country. i was just asking as a general guideline. it is my personal understanding though, i did forget to mention here that all means of escape would be otherwise exhausted. trust me i am not one of those people ignorant enough to go and hear from a website that i can draw my gun and protect myself when neccessary and then go trigger happy on some guy that just wanted to wash my windows, (i may have training and all but i am not that robotic). as for detaining a person i feel that would be better than just shooting him. of course it all depends on the type of situation i would be in too. i have went through POW detainee training/search procedures. and have a good grasp of my training. though some of this may fly even under the geneva convention it would not fly under civil laws. either way i am pretty clear on what is authorized as enough force to detain a person depending on a certain situation(meaning i would not beat the crap out of them and then call the police and wonder why i got arrested too). i just want to know that if someone comes at me in my car or while i am say for instance sitting at a sonic outside eating with my family and there is no real way for all of us to escape due to the fact that there would be mad chaos. and i have already analyzed the situation and know that whoever it is, wants to do bodily harm to me or my family. what my rights would be if i felt i had to draw my weapon to stop the situation(especially being that i would be in a public place for instance also.) i will look into this more for specific guidelines for mississippi law too. but usually on something so.............well,.... for lack of a better word, common, though that is not really the phrase i am looking for i would think that there would be federal law that would mention something about this. or at least a genaral guideline that a person could gather from all the state laws, being that this is a pretty general situation (at least in my eyes)i am depicting here. i know there are about 10 different questions wrapped up into one here. i knew i would get this type of reply which is fine, because most people would not keep a level head about this type of thing nor would they have enough sense to pay attention to all the small things(that still count alot) to ascertain whether or not they were really in danger and not just a misunderstanding. i hope from this said you could weed out from all the stuff i said and understand better what i am asking. sometimes a person has to defend themselves and there is no way for the police to help at the moment of truth. i just want to be prepared and know what to do if somthing like this should ever occur. by the way kind of off of the subject. i do plan on joining the local law enforcement here pretty soon. but i would rather know now and also maybe someone else that wants to know about something like this and does not plan on being a cop could see this thread also and learn something from what you tell me. hope this novel of hypotheticals lets you better understand what i am really asking and what my mindset and background is,...going into a situation like this. sorry but life story would not fit. lol. thanks for any more information provided.

 

[FordSVTFan]

HUH??
Anyway, there are Federal Laws regarding the procurement and possession of hand guns in the United States of America. Most of these fall under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

These are broad guidelines and quite vague as to their enforcement. That is why each state then has the ability to draft laws that are more defining and strict. The state can make the law more restrictive than the Federal Statute, but it can not make it more broad.

Therefore to answer most of your questions, or as I understood them, you need to specifically refer to the laws of Mississippi. There is no general rule as to define a threat or extent of that threat, it is once again defined in Mississippi case law.

Good Luck

 

[fiveoguy]

check out www.packing.org for a lot of good info. here is the way it works in va. You can carry a gun in the open anywhere you want, as long as it is in plain view and there are no other laws or rules that prohibit it. (such as local laws or being forbidden by property owner) You have the right to use your gun for defense of the life of yourself or an innocent other. That means you can only use your gun to kill someone if they are trying to kill you. If you pull your gun for any other reason, you are brandishing a firearm, which is a pretty serious charge.

 

[CraneClan]

And, if all else fails and you point a gun at someone and detain them til the police get there, don't be surprised if you get slapped with an assault with a firearm charge. Unfortunately, you are messing with this creep's "civil liberties."

I carry a gun legally. Be absolutely certain it's what you want to do. Sometimes it's just not worth it. Sad, but true.

 

[harry gilbert]

Here are some guidelines:

1) NEVER let anyone know that you are carrying
2) Don't pull it unless you are going to use it
3) Don't use it unless your life is absolutely in jeopardy. You must even accept assault without using deadly force unless you can prove your life was at stake. Threats, slaps, punches, etc. are not enough. Unless your state allows it, you can't use deadly force to protect property.
4) Plan on being prosecuted by a legal system that does not recognize your right of self-defense, even though by law, police are not responsible to protect you, only society in general. And if your assailant lives, plan on being sued in civil court. The advice to flee if possible is correct.
5) No disrespect to LEOs here -- just stating the facts.

Harry
NRA Benefactor Member
Certified Firearms Instructor

 

[Sinister Angel]

In Regards to number 4, if your life was in fact in danger, and you do shoot the perp, make sure it does finish him off. Dead men tell no lies. *Flame shields up*

 

[FordSVTFan]

I agree with the kid. There is an old law enforcement saying, "I'd rather be judged by 12, then carried by 6."

The other rule is once you have decided to use deadly force, you fire that weapon until it is empty.

 

[Ginsu]

FordSVTFan covered it pretty good. The Constitution permits you to own a weapon but different states will dictate how it can be carried or used in self defense. Now some large cities have severe restrictions based on crimes. I may be off base because this was told to me by a friend in NY years ago, but I don't think a non L.E. can own a hand gun and a permit is required for a shot gun (and that is hard to get).

Others have brought up good points on criminal and civil liability. If your state allows concealed permits, then the key thing you will need to articulate is the fear of immediate jeoporady as well as how close the proximity and intent to use such weapon is to you. All in all the best avenue of approach is to not confront an assailant unless you are certain you will be killed of recieve serious bodily injury.

The law is very strict when it comes to citizens using weapons in self defense. Because the average person does not have the appropriate training, knowledge and experience to recognize when deadly force is required.

Also remember that if a scrot has a weapon on you, they have a huge advantage already. By the time you draw a weapon and before you could even get it to where you could use it, the scrot most like will have killed you.

Ultimately the decision is yours concerning deadly force but first thoughly research the laws in your state and consult a criminal attorny about recent case law concerning private citizens using deadly force.

 

[Sailing2Smth]

Originally posted by fiveoguy
check out www.packing.org for a lot of good info. here is the way it works in va. You can carry a gun in the open anywhere you want, as long as it is in plain view and there are no other laws or rules that prohibit it. (such as local laws or being forbidden by property owner) You have the right to use your gun for defense of the life of yourself or an innocent other. That means you can only use your gun to kill someone if they are trying to kill you. If you pull your gun for any other reason, you are brandishing a firearm, which is a pretty serious charge.

hey im from va as well
in order for it to be owned/carried on your person in plain view, what are the license(s)/registration(s) you must own?

 

[FordSVTFan]

Rob that was eloquently put!!!

I have heard it time and time again, "I was in the service", "I shot all the time", "I am great with a gun." There is no training other than specific realistic training that will prepare you to use a handgun properly in your own defense.

I have years of handgun experience and tens of thousands of rounds fired through every imaginable hand gun and I still get some anxiety everytime I must draw my weapon and aim it at a human(even a scrot). In addition, I qualify three times a year with my various weapons. I train other instructors and I operate the simulator. The use of the simulator and actual "Hogans Alley" experience is the closest thing you can get to a real live situation. I would say 1% of non LEO's have this experience and I would hazard to guess that less than that are current on this training.

Therefore, carrying a firearm as a means of self defense is probably not a viable or realistic option for 99.9% of citizens.

Additionally there has not been one instance, where I have been "off duty" where my weapon has had to come out to diffuse a situation or protect myself.

This is not something that should be taken lightly or used as a macho thing("look at me, I can legally carry a gun.") Please use your head where this is concerned.

 

[harry gilbert]

Having gone through "Hogan's Alley" and been involved in combat, I can relate the two experiences are not totally similar. Sure you get an adrenaline rush during training -- nothing compared to being in combat! You can train relentlessly, and it helps, but you won't really know how you'll react until it's real. Better to avoid a confrontation unless there's no choice. And if you DON'T train, you may be fooling yourself thinking you'll handle the situation correctly the first time. At the very least, get some defensive pistol competition or simulator time in before you make the decision to carry.

 

[rocket5979]

hey thanks for all the advice. i will look up my local laws and research this more to find out what specifics i need to know before legally, AND smartly carrying my personal defense weapon in this state.