I'm in NC, and like most states, there is a provision that one cannot claim self-defense in a shooting situation if the shooter started the confrontation in the first place.
If you contribute to starting the fight, you can't claim self-defense as a reason for shooting the guy.
I have a very cynical view of juries and prosecutors (moreso the latter), and I am quite scared of being an object of legal prosecution.
So why do I feel handicapped?
Example from yesterday: I'm at the pool with my wife. Her CC weapon is holstered in a small bag by her lounge chair, and mine is holstered in a small bag by my lounge chair. We were there to read in the sun, and not swim. No apartment staff/lifeguards were around.
Some no-good hoodlums from the projects down the road show up to swim. They're playing loud, offensive music, swearing like sailors, and littering as they hang out at a pool they're not allowed to be at.
My wife and I just get up and leave. In any sane society, I would have been free to ask them to watch their language, turn the music down, and stop littering....not to mention leaving. But I'm scared to. Not because I'm scared of them - I'm scared of the law. Hoodlums and miscreants don't react well to responsible members of society asking them to stop being stupid. If a confrontation ensued from my request, and they began to pose a lethal threat to me, I honestly believe there is a good possibility of being prosecuted. Why? Instead of leaving, I 'started the confrontation.'
I'm a slow, right-lane driver. If I honk at someone who cuts me off, or nearly causes an accident, and they get some road rage and come mess with me - same thing. So I'm hesitant to honk.
A hundred other scenarios could meet the same criteria. Let's say I see a teenagers swipe some candy from a store. If I question him or alert management, he or his hoodlum parent may start something.
You guys get the idea. Is my hesitance to do the right thing in these situations reasonable, given the law? If so, then all of society suffers when good men can't question or call out bad men, because of fear of prosecution for winning the ensuing fight with finality.
If you contribute to starting the fight, you can't claim self-defense as a reason for shooting the guy.
I have a very cynical view of juries and prosecutors (moreso the latter), and I am quite scared of being an object of legal prosecution.
So why do I feel handicapped?
Example from yesterday: I'm at the pool with my wife. Her CC weapon is holstered in a small bag by her lounge chair, and mine is holstered in a small bag by my lounge chair. We were there to read in the sun, and not swim. No apartment staff/lifeguards were around.
Some no-good hoodlums from the projects down the road show up to swim. They're playing loud, offensive music, swearing like sailors, and littering as they hang out at a pool they're not allowed to be at.
My wife and I just get up and leave. In any sane society, I would have been free to ask them to watch their language, turn the music down, and stop littering....not to mention leaving. But I'm scared to. Not because I'm scared of them - I'm scared of the law. Hoodlums and miscreants don't react well to responsible members of society asking them to stop being stupid. If a confrontation ensued from my request, and they began to pose a lethal threat to me, I honestly believe there is a good possibility of being prosecuted. Why? Instead of leaving, I 'started the confrontation.'
I'm a slow, right-lane driver. If I honk at someone who cuts me off, or nearly causes an accident, and they get some road rage and come mess with me - same thing. So I'm hesitant to honk.
A hundred other scenarios could meet the same criteria. Let's say I see a teenagers swipe some candy from a store. If I question him or alert management, he or his hoodlum parent may start something.
You guys get the idea. Is my hesitance to do the right thing in these situations reasonable, given the law? If so, then all of society suffers when good men can't question or call out bad men, because of fear of prosecution for winning the ensuing fight with finality.