# Doubt about display the gun in a dangerous situation



## mik3gun (Sep 15, 2010)

Hi all.

I have been reading the stand your ground law in florida. But I have some doubts.

The law say the gun can not be shown, but for example, if you are walking at the street and there come 1 person and he has a bat and want to hit you.. you could draw your gun an shoot him...it is self defense, but instead of shooting him what happen is you take out your gun and say him go back, calm down and then the guy go back .. is that unlawful?.. the same if someone approach your window in the car and want steal you with a knife and you show the gun...(and there is not any option you can run away or close the window)


----------



## kg333 (May 19, 2008)

I suspect you'll find that many members on here will say that if the gun comes out, it goes bang...negotiating with an attacker is better left to the police. For a CCDW holder, if you're drawing a weapon, it should be because you believe that your life or property is in danger unless you use lethal force immediately, IMO.

That said, I'm not familiar enough with FL's laws to tell you whether it would be unlawful or not, should you be in a situation where the attacker stops as soon as he sees you have a weapon and before you are able to use it. Legal advice is best left to the lawyers.
:watching:


KG


----------



## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

My personal threshold for drawing a weapon does not depend very much on what some wishy-washy legislator wrote into the law, to please his constituents. By the time a real-life self defense situation has escalated to the point where I am considering the use of lethal force, the intricacies of the law have already been relegated to the 'back seat,' in favor of a desire to simply survive.

In a slowly developing situation, I will try to endure quite a lot before I even consider drawing a weapon, in order to be sure that it really is absolutely necessary. 

But, in the more likely scenario, in which there are only a couple of seconds to make the decision, my intention is to draw and fire without hesitation...unless my attacker hesitates before I can get the trigger pulled. He can likely save himself by stopping his attack and either retreating or surrendering, but he doesn't have much time to decide.


----------



## Seabee (May 11, 2010)

Agreed........


----------



## recoilguy (Apr 30, 2009)

Bisley said:


> In a slowly developing situation, I will try to endure quite a lot before I even consider drawing a weapon, in order to be sure that it really is absolutely necessary.
> 
> But, in the more likely scenario, in which there are only a couple of seconds to make the decision, my intention is to draw and fire without hesitation...unless my attacker hesitates before I can get the trigger pulled. He can likely save himself by stopping his attack and either retreating or surrendering, but he doesn't have much time to decide.


Thats how I see it too ..

But, like said, legal advice is best left to lawyers

RCG


----------



## wjh2657 (Jun 18, 2008)

I only see two options: Exit scene or shoot. Scaring people with a gun is not being real.


----------



## Couch Potato (Jun 3, 2010)

wjh2657 said:


> I only see two options: Exit scene or shoot. Scaring people with a gun is not being real.


If you try to scare someone with your gun, they are likely to shoot you with theirs. :watching:


----------



## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

Here's right out of the Florida Divison of Lic...:smt1099 You can go and read it for yourself.

Lawful Self-Defense - Weapons - Division of Licensing, FDACS

Q. What if I point my handgun at someone but don't use it?

A. Never display a handgun to gain "leverage" in an argument. Threatening someone verbally while possessing a handgun, even licensed, will land you in jail for three years. Even if the gun is broken or you don't have bullets, you will receive the mandatory three-year sentence if convicted. The law does not allow any possibility of getting out of jail early.

Example: In a 1987 case, a woman refused to pay an automobile mechanic who she thought did a poor job repairing her car. They argued about it, and the mechanic removed the radiator hose from the car so she couldn't drive it away. She reached into her purse, pulled out an unloaded gun, and threatened to kill the mechanic if he touched her car again. The mechanic grabbed the gun and called the police.

The woman was convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm and sentenced to serve a mandatory three-year prison term. The fact that the gun was not loaded was irrelevant. Even though she was the mother of three dependent children and had no prior criminal record, the statute does not allow for parole. Her only recourse was to seek clemency from the Governor.


----------



## fiasconva (Jun 14, 2009)

IMHO, if and when you draw that weapon you better be prepared to use it if necessary. If the person with the bat, as you described, does not back off then you have to decide to shoot or not. If he does back off then you have no need to shoot him. The same applies to the other situations. If the display of your gun does not diffuse the situation then you have to decide whether or not to protect your life by possibly taking someone else's.


----------



## Couch Potato (Jun 3, 2010)

fiasconva said:


> IMHO, if and when you draw that weapon you better be prepared to use it *if necessary*. If the person with the bat, as you described, does not back off then you have to decide to shoot or not. If he does back off then you have no need to shoot him. The same applies to the other situations. If the display of your gun does not diffuse the situation then you have to decide whether or not to protect your life by possibly taking someone else's.


IMHO you need to drop the "if necessary" from the sentence. When one draws a gun the decision to fire is suppose to have already happened otherwise the gun should stay in the holster. If by some chance the attacker sees you are drawing a gun, and the attacker starts to runaway before you can pull the trigger you try not to fire; however, I think it is highly unlikely an attacker would have time to begin retreating before the first shot is fired.


----------



## unpecador (May 9, 2008)

IMO one should not wait to draw until there's the need to shoot, there may not be enough time to react.


----------



## bayhawk2 (Sep 25, 2010)

No sane /law abiding citizen,wants to kill another person.IMO only the brainwashed paranoid "want" to be given the opportunity to shoot another human being.I carry to protect.I don't want to be in
a confrontation where I have to pull my weapon.
If I feel pulling my weapon is the answer?I will and I will shoot to kill.
I will not warn by pointing it.If I pull it?It's because I intend to use it.My opinion.


----------



## fiasconva (Jun 14, 2009)

My reason for the "if necessary" was for a purpose. The questioner was new and asking for input. For me, and not the person asking the question, the decision was already made to fire when my weapon was drawn. A gun should not be drawn for the purpose of scaring someone away. However, if I draw down on the person with the bat and he drops it and runs or drops it and backs off, then why do I need to shoot him? A lot will depend on how close he is to you and things like that but if I don't have to shoot the bat carrier then it won't be necessary to do so.


----------



## Couch Potato (Jun 3, 2010)

It would be great to be so lucky to have the attacker to react soon enough when I draw my gun to drop the bat and run fast enough for me to not get off a shot, but it is highly unlikely would to happen. There simply would not be sufficient time. 

The only place where I could see such a scenario is in my home where the gun is going to be in my hand even when I only suspect a threat may be about to present itself. I would not be "drawing" the gun, just picking it up to investigate. In such cases it is possible a potential attacker would see the gun well before becoming a true threat I would need to shoot.


----------



## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

Couch Potato said:


> It would be great to be so lucky to have the attacker to react soon enough when I draw my gun to drop the bat and run fast enough for me to not get off a shot, but it is highly unlikely would to happen. There simply would not be sufficient time.


I don't mean to be argumentative on this point, but I may view it a little bit differently.

I believe there is a decent chance that an attacker may read your eyes and your body language, while you are going for your gun, and also that your draw is likely to be slow enough that he may have time to pause in his advance, once he recognizes that his victim is going to fight, and may have something to fight with. I also believe that you may be able to read his hesitation, in the time it takes for you to get your gun out and on the target. It's impossible to know, obviously, because there are just too many possible variables, but I'm just saying that you _may_ be able to hold your fire, if that turns out to be what is most prudent.

Of course, this is the type of speculation that can get you hurt or killed, if you depend on it, so you have to maintain, as your 'default' reaction, the commitment to draw and fire as quickly and accurately as possible, if you have determined that the threat requires it.

Just my opinion, of course.


----------



## kg333 (May 19, 2008)

Bisley said:


> ...I'm just saying that you _may_ be able to hold your fire, if that turns out to be what is most prudent.
> 
> Of course, this is the type of speculation that can get you hurt or killed, if you depend on it, so you have to maintain, as your 'default' reaction, the commitment to draw and fire as quickly and accurately as possible, if you have determined that the threat requires it.


I think this really hit the nail on the head, Bisley. :smt023

KG


----------



## Couch Potato (Jun 3, 2010)

Bisley said:


> I don't mean to be argumentative on this point, but I may view it a little bit differently.
> 
> I believe there is a decent chance that an attacker may read your eyes and your body language, while you are going for your gun, and also that your draw is likely to be slow enough that he may have time to pause in his advance, once he recognizes that his victim is going to fight, and may have something to fight with. I also believe that you may be able to read his hesitation, in the time it takes for you to get your gun out and on the target. It's impossible to know, obviously, because there are just too many possible variables, but I'm just saying that you _may_ be able to hold your fire, if that turns out to be what is most prudent.
> 
> ...


I think we are mostly on the same page. The mind set in practicing for the event I hope never occurs is to draw the gun, put it on target, and pull the tigger. There is not a step for checking to see if the threat still exists. Certainly one does not pull the trigger if it is apparent the threat no longer exists, but there is very little time for it to go away and even less for one to realize that fact.

Never a need to apologize for arguing with me. I love to argue. :smt082


----------

