PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Ok, Im going to cover this topic because I think some of you just do not have any idea about this. If you do, and you dont care, then fine. Carry on like I didnt say a word. But, if you have NOT thought about what I am about to write about--in the context that I will put it--then hopefully you will adjust your behavior a little bit to help keep yourselves out of trouble. Social media and pro self-defense posting. Every day I see people posting on social media about self-defense: Memes with catchy sayings and cool cliches, comments on posts about robberies or criminals, etc. Too often it goes like this, thats why I stay locked and loaded! That criminal would not have lived if that was my house! or Thats why I carry! Ill kill anyone who tries that shit on me or my family or he should have killed him and made sure he was dead!. Of course, theres a thousand variations of this theme, but basically the gist of it is that you are predetermined to kill someone at all times if they attack you or invade your home. Every time you post something that even resembles this sentiment, you are weakening your case for self-defense should you ever find yourself in a violent confrontation. Every post you put on Facebook. Every little comment you make on any random post from your favorite gun page or FB friend...all of it goes into recorded history to live forever somewhere. (Maybe it actually does last for many years, maybe it doesnt. You cant be sure, and the possibility that it does is pretty high.) I am not an attorney and this does not constitute legal advice, but because I teach self-defense topics in my courses, I cover this thoroughly. My Alumni should know this well. Its a guideline. In the real world, self-defense is a LEGAL term. It is a legal defense against criminal charges for the use of force in resisting an attack on the person, and especially for killing an assailant. If you are ever faced with a violent confrontation and you prevail in stopping the attack by using lethal force, you may have to articulate why you had to use the level of force you used. You may have to say, I HAD to use that much force because he would have seriously hurt or killed me and I had no avenue of escape. Lets say that the prosecutor then goes and finds a comment you made, on a PUBLIC post someone else posted, where you articulated a serious hatred for robbers and let it be known in no uncertain terms that you will kill the first robber that tries it on you. As much as you may think that it is ok to kill a violent horrible person that contributes nothing but pain and misery to society, as soon as you commit that thought to the cyber record you are setting yourself up for a legal nightmare. Why? Because it is NEVER legal to kill anyone intentionally. No matter what they have done. It is never legal to shoot to kill. Period. I know, I know, its not smart to shoot to wound. Thats correct. So, we dont do that either. What you DO is shoot to stop the threat. That is it and that is all. IF they die as a result of their wounds, that was not your intent. Your intent was to stop their violent attack, which you did not provoke in any way, when you had a reasonable and honest belief that serious bodily harm or death would result from their attack, and you had no duty to retreat. Lets say you go into work and talk about how you have your ccw and you wont hesitate to shoot some dirty bastards face off and leave him dead in the parking lot if he tries to rob you or attacks you. You emphasize how you wont hesitate to kill him. You dont give a shit, hes dead. Two days later, you get mugged at knife point in a parking lot, and you shoot and kill him. Things are ok, right? Well, by some magic of the universe the nice little old lady at work has come into contact with the county prosecutor, and shes telling him how she cant believe it that you were just saying two days ago how you would certainly kill the first person who tried to rob you. Now what? Do you think that some other factor wont come into play? Over zealous prosecutor, anti-ccw court officials, or worse (and very likely today) you become a media sensation for killing a poor kid who only had a knife and possibly never really intended to use it but you, you vigilante bloodthirsty racist impoverished-person-hating cant-wait-to-kill-a-criminal judge jury and executioner gun owner, you killed him in cold blood. Think Im being outlandish? If so, you havent watched the news in the past 2 years. The Supreme Court of Ohio has established 3 criteria which must ALL be provable in a self-defense assertion against criminal charges: 1. You must not be at fault. You can not have initiated nor escalated the confrontation. 2. You must have a reasonable and honest belief in SERIOUS bodily harm or death. Not speculation. 3. You must have had no avenue of safe retreat. (This one is lightened somewhat in your home or car by Castle Doctrine, but Castle Doctrine still is not a license to kill.) IN addition to this, you must have only used as much force as was necessary to stop the attack and nothing more. (All of this is in the Ohio Concealed Carry Handbook) So, think about this the next time you are so inclined to post all over the permanent cyber record about your penchant for killing people. Winning does not mean winning a fight and then losing your house, your spouse, your kids, your freedom and your identity-- to be locked in a cage like an animal for 20 to life (where ironically you will have to defend your dignity and your life perpetually forever). Winning means going home to your family in one piece, and repeating that each day with no unnatural interruptions. Not to mention, most people who speak like that have never had serious deadly confrontations and have never been covered in someones blood as they lay dying in front of you. So basically a good majority of you have no idea what you are talking about anyway. Learn that you dont know what you dont know. Being able to defend yourself with clear justification for your actions and decisions is just as important as being able to defend yourself with fists or a gun. Theres more than one way to lose. Quit setting yourself up for failure. Be a positive example for the right to self-defense. Articulate your reasons well. One day your life may depend on everything you have ever said about the subject, starting back before today was ever thought of.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 00:12:27 +0000
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