Quote:
Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn
So basically if an intruder has a bat. I can fight him off with a bat. If he has a knife. I can use a knife as well. If he has a gun. I can shoot him?
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Pretty much, with a couple exceptions.
It would be near impossible for a petite woman to fight off a full sized man with a bat with another bat unless she was proficient in some sort of defense class and he was just a dufus. In other words, situations come into play. Logic says in most cases, she would need something stronger to match force. In that case, she could likely shoot to disable.
Motives come into play as well. If someone is coming at you with a knife... realistically, you can't be expected to drop your 9mm, run into the kitchen, and engage in some knifeplay with your would-be killer. However, if you put one in between his eyes, you used "excessive force." If you shot him in the arm or leg with clear intent to disable, you clearly used just enough force to defend yourself.
I don't completely agree with this, but that appears to be the law as it is.
As mentioned, there was a thread on this too.