🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <CGp30B.7Du@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> wws@wwssun.att.com
 (Bill Stoll) writes:
>Does this mean that people can't use handguns to defend their home
>from unarmed burglars?

In general, armed self-defense in the home is legal, although you
should draw a distinction between "defending your home" (property,
that is), and "defending yourself and your family".  A criminal who
enters an occupied dwelling can be assumed to be prepared to deal with
resistance, and can be held at gunpoint for the police, or, if he
attacks you, shot.  If he tries to run away, he is no longer a threat
(even if he's got your thousand-dollar stereo), and you have no legal
right to shoot him.  In fact, if you chase after him and get into a
fight, you're most likely guilty of assault.

  Don't take this as a justification for prowling around a dark house
with a gun in your hand, looking for the thug; that's a good way to
get killed, or worse yet, to kill a family member.  The best thing to
do is get the family together behind a locked door, call the police,
and be prepared to use the gun if someone tries to get through the
door.  Your insurance will replace the stereo if he gets away, but it
won't replace *you*.

[side note: so how do you know he's unarmed, anyway?  a snub-nose .38
tucked into a belt is practically invisible until it's used against
you, and there are enough knives and blunt instruments in the average
household for your burglar to arm himself very quickly if he feels the
need.  more to the point, a six-foot, 200-pound man doesn't usually
*need* a weapon to hurt or kill people, particularly women, children,
and senior citizens]

  DISCLAIMER: I'm not a lawyer, and self-defense law varies widely
around the country.  If you're considering keeping a loaded firearm in
the home for protection, consult an experienced attorney in your area.
To read up on the subject, the following books are a good start:

	The Truth About Self Protection
	by Massad Ayoob
	Bantam Books, 1983, for The Police Bookshelf
	ISBN 0-553-19519-0

	In the Gravest Extreme:
	The role of the firearm in personal protection
	by Massad F. Ayoob
	The Police Bookshelf, 1980
	ISBN 0-936297-00-1


			Accidental deaths of children aged 0-4 in 1984:
			    firearm: 34
			    cigarette lighter: 90
				--  Centers for Disease Control,
				    "Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report,"
				    March 11, 1988
-- 
J Greely (72604.3164@compuserve.com, jgreely@pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu)