Is it legal to shoot someone lunging at us

[shybladder]

Like the title says, is it legal to shoot an unarmed man that lunges for your gun? Just asking for a friend...

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[shybladder]

Like the title says, is it legal to shoot an unarmed man that lunges for your gun? Just asking for a friend... yes or no answers please.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Might be best to ask a lawyer or two...
Or look up laws regarding self defense in whatever state / city / etc...you have questions about.

And yes...
I read that you want a Yes or No answer.....while you can get a yes or a no...there are many variables here at play that make a simple yes or no , not helpful.
Andy

 

[Longwalkhome]

Not a lawyer but read a lot. If you have a good lawyer and Jury then the disparity of force might be accepted in self defense. Will 12 folks on the jury believe the person was a threat to your life? A 90 lb woman shooting an unarmed 250lb rapist would do better than Rambo dressed 250 pound man killing an unarmed 120 lb antifa drug addict.

 

[Member 3687]

There is no yes or no answer and that is the problem with saying one. Even an attorney will tell you it all depends on everything leading up to the time some one does it. so my answer is maybe

 

[Member 3687]

The basic rule is if you feel your life is in immediate and unavoidable danger of death or great bodily harm then you have the right to defend your self. Then after that you got to convince a jury the same thing.

 

[Hueco]

I'm tempted to lock this up for an attempt at trolling. Yes or no answers to that little of information are not possible and you know that.

Obviously, your question has behind it the Rittenhouse case and verdict.

Do you mean, what if someone acts aggressively toward me all night, makes threats to kill me, and then sometime later chases after me, corners me, and then lunges at me…

Or do you mean, some stoned homeless guy lost his balance and lunges at me…

I mean, both of these are people lunging at you…it's amazing how the details change things.

Don't be a troll. Ask the question you really want to ask or make the statement - but don't hide behind this half question and request for vague meaningless answers.

 

[TTSX]

Are you trying to prove KR is guilty after the fact?

 

[kylej24]

From my understanding, if the situation is unavoidable, there is a violent crime being or about to be committed, they have the ability for great bodily harm, AND that is your only opportunity to defend yourself, then it would be justified. There are a lot of technicalities based on each situation so only you can judge.

Unarmed guy lunging is quite vague. If you are able to retreat, they appear to not be armed, or they do not reasonably have an overpowering physical advantage or a numbers advantage, you're most likely not justified and are better off with fisticuffs, less than lethal defense, or retreating.

 

[Ghoul]

Like the title says, is it legal to shoot an unarmed man that lunges for your gun? Just asking for a friend...

Kind of seems like a gotcha question, as we just finished up the Rittenhouse trial.

 

[SHOOTZMEDLER]

Kind of seems like a gotcha question, as we just finished up the Rittenhouse trial.

Yeah it sorta does.. each situation has different things that happen. You can't say 100% without a doubt that you're justified or not justified until all events are gone over. This is not legal advice, just some things I've noticed while on the job.

 

[P7M13]

Like the title says, is it legal to shoot an unarmed man that lunges for your gun? Just asking for a friend...

I plead ignorance.
Tell ya what - let them take your gun and find out what they intended to do with it.

 

[WillametteWill]

Presuming you are opening a discussion and not seeking legal advice, for your friend , I'll play.

Definitely maybe.

As we have seen recently the answer can be yes. As I think we will see from a case in Georgia shortly, it can also be no. This is why KR had to take the stand. The defender must articulate why they were in fear of GBI or death. Can this be from an unarmed person, sure, but you will have some 'splaining to do.

I found it funny / interesting / strange the many of the legal pundits have been saying what a mistake it is for a defendant to take the stand. Normally, yes, but not in a self defense case. Sure, big risk with a naïve 17 year old. But this is how we establish innocence based on the reasonable person standard. One of my standards for a self defense attorney is that if they say, "You will never need to take the stand," I'm not hiring them.

 

[elsie]

I'm tempted to lock this up for an attempt at trolling. Yes or no answers to that little of information are not possible and you know that.

Obviously, your question has behind it the Rittenhouse case and verdict.

Do you mean, what if someone acts aggressively toward me all night, makes threats to kill me, and then sometime later chases after me, corners me, and then lunges at me…

Or do you mean, some stoned homeless guy lost his balance and lunges at me…

I mean, both of these are people lunging at you…it's amazing how the details change things.

Don't be a troll. Ask the question you really want to ask or make the statement - but don't hide behind this half question and request for vague meaningless answers.

Or you could merge it with the other thread... B-)


elsie

 

[Ghoul]

Like the title says, is it legal to shoot an unarmed man that lunges for your gun? Just asking for a friend... yes or no answers please.

This is now 2 posts with the same question by you, and it really seems you're working an angle with a GOTCHA question, as we have just finished the Rittenhouse trial.
Your question is not a yes or no question.

 

[nwslopoke]

I think the real answer is, can you prove it is legal.

I've seen a naked skinny sweaty drugged up man taking on two big guys trying to subdue him. The naked guy was taking huge blows and was unaffected. Unarmed and naked, this man had the potential to seriously injure or kill some random average man.

I imagine it was PCP produced by an 8th grade drop out. Unarmed doesn't equal not a threat. You can, what if, all day. You can lose your life or lose your freedom base on someone else's choices.

 

[WillametteWill]

Have you stopped beating your wife, yes or no answer.

Guess you didn't like the answers in the other thread?

 

[WillametteWill]

I'm sorry, I mean has your friend?

 

[Kruel J]

NWFA is not a place for legal advice or threads like these.

Locked.