The chl is perfect for this situation but there are civil lawsuites to follow. In Texas if you pull and do not use you turn into the aggressor. If you pull you must stop the threat. CHL's are more of a headache then they are worth...

 

Concealed carry would be my first reaction. Even if the gun isn't loaded (which removes all lethal threat and lessens any repercussions) most people will back off at the sight of one. So I think that'd be my first route. I actually saw a scene similar to this about 3 years ago while Christmas shopping with my parents. My Father was actually the one who stepped in. If I remember correctly he stepped between them and grabbed one of the attackers by the throat and lifted him up with one hand and held him there. He's 6 foot 2 and about 200 pounds of solid muscle. Anyway that got the attention of the rest of them and they immediately stopped. At that point the mall security showed up and took over. It's sad because he received no recognition for what he did, he could have saved the girls life as she was already bleeding and on the floor. But he just walked back to me and it was as if nothing happened.

 

Dunno. Id have to go with clockin the ho, I guess.

Both options would prolly mean needing a lawyer. But at least I could get a cheaper one with assault charges vs ones involving my pistol.

 

These post should not be allowed as they spark controversy and unrest, frankly I'm glad I didn't see any of the post you had to clean up.

 

man if this is the world we live in and you have to erase the truth to hide it.
how do you want to fix it. this is not the world i want my kids to be growing up in.

and i didnt say anything that would offend anyone. i simply stated the fact that was in the news paper once.

 

your dad is a real man, he looks for no reward.


you guys carrying the concealed are worried about the repercussions of your actions, but you know deep down that the mere sight of the gun will most likely stave off the threat and save the victim, perhaps even saving their life. however, you still do not pull and the victim is mauled to death; what then? would you rather have death/brain damage/cripple on your hands or a hefty lawyers fee?

and if you were the one being pounded into the ground...would you honestly understand the actions of someone who could have neutralized the situation and yet chose to worry about his or her own self? ffs who is the one being beaten to an inch of their life?

 

Jpan, most of us that carry know that the mere act of drawing our weapon mean crossing a very big line. Everyone I've seen here that have a concealed license give me the impression that they understand using our weapons means ending a life. I personally can't take that responsibility casually. A clear cut case of defending a life, like if one pulled a knife, I'd unload and reload. But that's not a clear cut case.

Then there's the fact that drawing a weapon means escalating a bad situation to worse. Lets pretend I'm one of the attackers and you draw a gun, to scare me. You'd have just scared me enough to draw AND fire my own weapon. No question on whether I'm going to fire. The only question would ne who dies that night. And if I didn't die, if I killed you, its likely I'd get off on self-defense (maybe not here in PA since the law requires I attempt to retreat first) because you drew first. And again, having a weapon and not using it on the Vic proves I didn't have murderous intent.

Gun really is off limits in that situation.

 

I completely disagree with this.

If I saw two individuals beating someone and causing them to have a seizure I would absolutely draw down. That woman could have been killed.

I wouldn't just go stand over the woman, the two people obviously have no regard for the persons life, maybe they do have a gun or knife or something.

I would refuse to stand by and watch something like that happen, and placing myself in a more dangerous situation (close distance to two attackers with no protection) is out of the question.

 

Agreed!
JPan, I was under the same impression prior to getting my CHL. There are other alternatives then pulling a pistol and stopping the threat....When you go there, there's no turning back. Check this scenario out:

If somebody is being held at gun point and killed or beat to death and the family finds out I was able to intervene with my personal weapon then they can take action against me. If I do intervene, then the assailants family can take legal action against me. There is this thin fine line.

I can sit here and say I would have done this and that but I am not in that position to have done something. I have intervened when a dude was getting his a$$ beat by another person who was larger than me. I know the dudes and when I grabbed the aggressor and pulled him to the side he calmed down. Not all situations are the same...

We can discuss this all day and go back and forth with tons of different answers....I dont know the right answer....

 

yup. shoot to stop the threat. you can't just pull your gun out, waive it around, because it takes the situation to the next level. you don't know at the time who is, and who is not armed or who has a weapon. if you pull out your gun, it makes it much more likely that a weapon or firearm will be used.

there's actually been cases in florida where the people that carry concealed and did not step in got in serious trouble for not stepping in and helping someone being robbed/raped/murdered/ect. but the problem is, there are very few people in the world that WANT to use their gun, especially in the moment. there's not a whole lot of time to decided exactly what you're going to do, or to even understand entirely what is going on.


that's right. you have to be willing to accept responsibility for ending another life if you decide to pull your weapon. when you pull a firearm, you are the one who raised the level of threat in the situation unfolding. you have to look at it from the angle of what is your involvment in the situation - detering the threat of loss of life, or increasing it.

pulling the gun, even with the intention of not using it, is increasing it the treath of loss of life.