Some jack@ss wants to fight and won't let you leave. You're packing. Fighting with this idiot would expose you to potential legal problems, could cause you to loose control of your weapon, and may even get your butt kicked, but probably won't kill you. You're not justified in using deadly force, and drawing your weapon would escalate the situation unnecessarily. OC could allow you time to retreat.
In just about every state, this would justify lethal force. Most only require that you be in fear of death or serious bodily injury. If someone insists on physically assaulting you, after being warned that you are armed, that you just want to leave and then blocking your retreat certainly passes the reasonable person test.
I've used pepper spray on a dog that was in the process of biting me once. It worked quite well at getting the dog to leave me alone. I think if I would have shot the dog with a gun, there would have been legal consequences, especially since the owner was standing not too far away and was watching as the dog was growling and biting me! I was also within city limits!
Again another scenario that calls for lethal force in most states. Most states laws do not require you to let someone beat you unconscious nor allow a dog or other animal to eat you before employing lethal force. Most only require a fear of death or serious bodily injury. They don't require that your assailant be armed. The real test is will a jury believe. But in many states (AZ for example), the burden is on the state to prove the shooting is not justified, not vice-versa.
The same law applies to private citizens. Indeed LEO's typically have a broader range of lawful use for deadly force. For a non-LEO, the rule is force must match force.
Actually the same law(s) does not apply. Nor do the same protections. Most states do not apply a force continuum to civilians. Most just require you be in fear of death of serious bodily injury. Most don't have a "like force" requirement.
If a private citizen is confronted with non-deadly force, he must not respond with deadly force.
Not in most states.
Look in your state codes on self defense and learn.
Already have, certified to teach them.
That means it both logicaly and legaly makes sense to have something besides a firearm, which cannot even be drawn or exposed in a hostile situation without making you guilty of felony assault if not warranted under your state law.
Not necessarily. Every confrontation is potentially a lethal one when you carry. LTL can cause you as much trouble as not. First, it uses up time and distance. If it fails to stop the assault (which it often does), you are now in a less advantageous position than you were before you used it. If may escalate a situation that may have ended with the presence or presentation of a firearm (contrary to what most people post, if you are in fear for your life, displaying your weapon is not a crime). It may even enrage the attacker.
It may also encourage someone to get involved in an altercation that they should avoid (that should be any).
That means if someone is acting threatening and advances and you place your hand on your firearm and others interprete that as an implied threat, you just assaulted them with that firearm, a felony to do in most states if its not legal to use it at that point, nevermind actualy pull it out.
Again, not true in most states. If you are in fear of death or serious bodily injury, putting your hand on your weapon or drawing your weapon is not a crime. If it was, just about everyone who you read about in the "Armed Citizen" woudl be in jail. What is is drawing it or displaying it unecessarily. Big difference.
In many places you will have a very tough time justifying use of your firearm against someone who is unarmed.
Not really, you only need to be in fear of death or serious injury.
LTL is no more a magic bullet than a firearm is. In fact, it can be a liability. A situation either calls for lethal force or it does not. If it doesn't, walk away.
