Radio Talk Show info...

[HI express]

Hi Folks,
I was listening to a local radio station here in soCal...the talk show hosts are "Frosty, Heidi, and Frank."
One of the subjects that they started in today was "If someone got into your house without your permission, did you have the right to shoot the person." The discussion went all over the place with lots of callers with bad information and the hosts didn't help...except for "Heidi" because she stated that she is a girl living alone and that if a BG broke into her house and she had a gun...if the BG headed her way, she would "shoot to kill."
One of the pearls of wisdom by a caller was that if a perp approaches you with a knife, that you couldn't use a gun to defend yourself and you could only use a weapon of equal "lethality..." So if the BG had a knife, you could only use a knife to defend yourself.
Another caller said that you could use your gun against a knife only if the BG were within one foot of you but not before then.
I expect some of this moronic responses because we draw a lot of misinformed folks to this state...not that our legislature helps to clairfy gun laws.
And the rest of this world expects us to be more concise and clearheaded?
That's why I'm planning to move out of here when I retire....not soon enough.

 

[Gung-Ho]

The key words to remember are..."I was in fear of great bodily harm, or death." If a jury of "your peers" (yeah right) believes that an average person in your shoes would have feared for his life or limb, then you are justified in using whatever force is neccesary to end the threat.

 

[Onmilo]

Speaking of pearls of wisdom, I had a prosecution attorney tell me that because I am 6'2", 240 and actively practice martial arts(Kendo for goodness sake!), he would indeed seek to prosecute for use of excessive force should I choose to shoot a knife wielding bad guy who is smaller in stature than myself,,,,,,,SIGH,,,,,

 

[trapperjohn]

the scary thing is that those are all potential jurors

 

[Gung-Ho]

I would still much rather be judged by 12 than carried by six.

 

[armoredman]

Speaking of pearls of wisdom, I had a prosecution attorney tell me that because I am 6'2", 240 and actively practice martial arts(Kendo for goodness sake!), he would indeed seek to prosecute for use of excessive force should I choose to shoot a knife wielding bad guy who is smaller in stature than myself,,,,,,,SIGH,,,,,

And if he did, you could file for him to either recuse himself from the case, thrown off the case, or the entire case thrown out, as he has threatened you with leghal action prior to your committing any offense. I am not an attorney, but this seems reasonable to me....

 

[Standing Wolf]

...the rest of this world expects us to be more concise and clearheaded?

Not any more. Schwarzenegger changed all that.

 

[Jeff White]

Onmilo said;

Speaking of pearls of wisdom, I had a prosecution attorney tell me that because I am 6'2", 240 and actively practice martial arts(Kendo for goodness sake!), he would indeed seek to prosecute for use of excessive force should I choose to shoot a knife wielding bad guy who is smaller in stature than myself,,,,,,,SIGH,,,,,

Did you ask him to show you where the charge of excessive force was in the Illinois Revised Statutes? Illinois has a pretty reasonable self defense law, despite the anti gun attitude of the Governor and The Chicago Democrats and the collar county Republicans.

(720 ILCS 5/7‑1) (from Ch. 38, par. 7‑1)
Sec. 7‑1. Use of force in defense of person.

(a) A person is justified in the use of force against another when and to the extent that he reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or another against such other's imminent use of unlawful force. However, he is justified in the use of force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm only if he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or another, or the commission of a forcible felony.
(b) In no case shall any act involving the use of force justified under this Section give rise to any claim or liability brought by or on behalf of any person acting within the definition of "aggressor" set forth in Section 7‑4 of this Article, or the estate, spouse, or other family member of such a person, against the person or estate of the person using such justified force, unless the use of force involves willful or wanton misconduct.
(Source: P.A. 93‑832, eff. 7‑28‑04.)

The law only addresses the use of force not the method of the force. If you are attacked by a knife wielding assailant you can reasonably believe that shooting him is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm. The law doesn't say anything about your size or skills in any martial arts. You would only be liable for shooting the assailant if he dropped the kinfe and ceased the attack when you presented your firearm and you shot him anyway.

(720 ILCS 5/7‑4) (from Ch. 38, par. 7‑4)
Sec. 7‑4. Use of force by aggressor.
The justification described in the preceding Sections of this Article is not available to a person who:
(a) Is attempting to commit, committing, or escaping after the commission of, a forcible felony; or
(b) Initially provokes the use of force against himself, with the intent to use such force as an excuse to inflict bodily harm upon the assailant; or
(c) Otherwise initially provokes the use of force against himself, unless:
(1) Such force is so great that he reasonably believes that he is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm, and that he has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant; or
(2) In good faith, he withdraws from physical contact with the assailant and indicates clearly to the assailant that he desires to withdraw and terminate the use of force, but the assailant continues or resumes the use of force.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 1983.)

Heck unless there was wanton misconduct, the assailant or his family can't even sue you civilly under Illinois law.

Jeff