Rumble
Member
I had a question come up in a discussion the other day that I couldn't answer, and was curious if anyone here knew.
In Pennsylvania, as I understand the law, there is a distinction in some statutes between "force" and "deadly force." The distinction on which is appropriate under what circumstances is fairly clear, but there doesn't seem to be a definition that specifies what would be considered "deadly force" vs. regular old "force."
The thrust of the question is really this: in an armed confrontation, is aiming a gun at an assailant considered deadly force, in and of itself? It came up while discussing the laws regarding using force in protection of your home.
My guess is "yes" - if I draw a gun on someone trying to hurt me, then that pretty much is deadly force. They are in immediate danger of death or serious injury, so I'd assume it would constitute deadly force. I'm just not sure if there's any legal definition to the contrary (I think, for example, Florida has some such distinction where it's not deadly force until you actually fire the gun; I may be misremembering).
In Pennsylvania, as I understand the law, there is a distinction in some statutes between "force" and "deadly force." The distinction on which is appropriate under what circumstances is fairly clear, but there doesn't seem to be a definition that specifies what would be considered "deadly force" vs. regular old "force."
The thrust of the question is really this: in an armed confrontation, is aiming a gun at an assailant considered deadly force, in and of itself? It came up while discussing the laws regarding using force in protection of your home.
My guess is "yes" - if I draw a gun on someone trying to hurt me, then that pretty much is deadly force. They are in immediate danger of death or serious injury, so I'd assume it would constitute deadly force. I'm just not sure if there's any legal definition to the contrary (I think, for example, Florida has some such distinction where it's not deadly force until you actually fire the gun; I may be misremembering).