AR 15 owners need your advice

[redtailcatfreak]

One of the few good things about Indiana is that homeowners are rarely charged for shooting someone who has broken into your home. Personally I subscribe to the theory its your story versus his so you better being the only person able to tell his story.

Yeah that was a good thing about living there. Haha. I live in Florida now and found out that the law states "A person has no duty to retreat"

A person is allowed to use a handgun or other weapon to defend yourself from attack. And if your trying to prevent a forcible felony such as rap, robbery, burglary, or kidnapping.

Also they have the "Castle Doctrine" stateing you do not have to retreat from your own home to avoid useing deadly force.

 

[leather]

So where exactly are the rails? This thread got so lost.

 

[Polypterus]

Refusing to say anything to the police can do some harm too though. An otherwise straight forward case can be complicated by a homeowner who refuses to talk. Police are just trying to do their job and if you are uncooperative this makes their job harder and can look very suspicious. I have always heard to give short, simple answers and make it clear that you thought you were going to die. Any answers should be completely factual 'I heard the front door glass break, I told my wife to call 911, I told him to get out of my house, he charged me and that is when I saw the gun in his hand pointed right at me and I fired'. If they keep pushing then politely say that you would prefer to wait until your lawyer arrives. A homeowner who won't answer simple questions like 'were you asleep?', 'did he have a weapon?', 'do you know this person?', etc can be too suspicious for a police officer to tolerate. Doing this to the wrong cop in the wrong case can lead to charges being brought on you as well as the bad guy.

You misunderstood or I was not clear (later most likely). You do answer simple matter of fact questions that let the responding officer do their job. What you do not do is offer up a life story without a lawyer present. Many of my closest friends happen to also be LE and even they will tell you that shutting up and not talking is in your best interest when dealing with them. It may at first put you in an awkward position to not offer detail without a lawyer present but in the end it can save you a whole lot hassle and will help in clearing the matter in a much quicker manner.

 

[JD7.62]

Reptileguy, our philosophies of self defense are completely opposite of each other. In my home, upon a potential threat my wife grabs the phone, I grab a gun (either G19, 9mm Carbine or Saiga-12) and my Fenix TK-15 and we head together to my daughters room.

Any intruder will be blasted first with a strobe of 350 Lumens from the Fenix for positive ID (though its just the three of us so no family or older kids to worry about trying to come in) and once ID is made that the person is unrecognizable, lead is flying. No waiting around to see if he has a gun, no trying to scare him. NO one has business being in my home uninvited and there are consequences.

Saying that, I pray that never happens. I dont want to take ANY ONES life, even a crack head hell bent on hurting some one. However, my family comes first and no chances are taken. I will talk to the cops, only to say that "I feared for my life and my family's safety" and I tell them that I would feel more comfortable with my lawyer present. Its not a cops job to keep you out of prison or keep you from getting sued. Its a lawyers job. Of course around here, putting a bad guy in the ground will most likely get you a pat on the back from the Sheriff.

 

[reptileguy2727]

I agree with that mostly. But if you shoot first, even at someone you have never met, before verifying any real threat (outside of their presence) you could easily end up in prison. The neighbor's drunk brother-in-law could have stumbled into the wrong house, you blow him away, the cops see he is unarmed and drunk, and you end up in prison for the rest of your life unable to protect your family from now on (or even provide for them). There are many situations that could lead to a non-threat in your home and assuming they are a threat and killing them is a good way to ruin your life, their life, the life of their family, and arm the anti-gun nuts with the ammo they like: gun owners who made mistakes.

Every situation is different. Your genuine fear is your best argument, even if it was factually wrong. Your trial will be based on whether a normal person in your situation would have also felt their life was in danger. If so you should have the charges dropped. If that is not the case you could easily end up in prison.

 

[JD7.62]

Not in the great state of Florida. I'm pretty sure VA is also a Castle Doctrine state too right?

The CD protects home owners from being criminally liable. You dont have to determine that the person there is actually out to kill you. By that time it could be too late. If you come into my house, because it is always locked and secure, it means you forced your way in some how. Im not going to ask your intentions, my questions will be composed of copper and lead.

 

[reptileguy2727]

True. I have not been in the situation, and hope I never am. This is one reason why a dog can be even better than a gun. They will let you know before the guy is even in the house, and usually deter him from getting in.

 

[beex215]

get an ar and get a dog. mount the ar to the dogs back. you now have the ultimate security system.