Brandishing and firing off a shot?

[allenr]

Yes, protect your hearing. I have two hearing aids from the VA because we were not issue plugs when I was in.

[SauerGrapes]

Being assaulted, your child right there, multiple attackers, shoot the S.O.B.!
Everybody should be glad she did what she did, right or wrong. If she did what I would do, someone would be shot.
I don't go for the ''warning shot" thing. I just don't think it's a viable plan.
In her situation, she needed to protect herself and her child. You can't retreat or run with a child.

[mpan72]

I believe in pulling out my firearm only when I am ready to shoot someone or something. I may pull it and not have to use it, that depends on the other party.

[GunLawyer001]

The system hates gun owners. Always keep that in mind.

That being said, the MAJORITY of defensive gun uses are brandishing or warning shots. That's just a fact. John Lott found evidence for millions of defensive uses of firearms every year, but we don't have millions of dead perps every year (just thousands). Even factoring in the reality that 90% of people who are shot survive (nb: 90% of non-head shots are survivable, but only 10% of head shots are), that means that millions of brandishings and warning shots effectively stop predators, every year.

Current PA law allows for brandishing and even warning shots, IF you can prove necessity or justification. PA law even allows you to kill an attacker, when legally necessary, so it sure allows lesser means to achieve the same goal.

It would be nice if PA courts understood that "using" deadly force is not the same as "threatening to use" lethal force, but anti-gun types permeate the system and they will want to require you to prove that you faced an imminent deadly threat before you drew your firearm. The difference is that "justification" requires you to establish that the harm the law you violated seeks to avoid, is less than the harm that you brandished your gun to avoid. So you can assault someone to avoid being murdered, but you can't murder someone to avoid being assaulted. The law you break has to be less serious than the law being broken by your attacker. No committing felonies to avoid summary or misdemeanor offenses, in other words.

[allenr]

Being assaulted, your child right there, multiple attackers, shoot the S.O.B.!
Everybody should be glad she did what she did, right or wrong. If she did what I would do, someone would be shot.
I don't go for the ''warning shot" thing. I just don't think it's a viable plan.
In her situation, she needed to protect herself and her child. You can't retreat or run with a child.

The simplesf reply i can make is:YES!

[allenr]

The system hates gun owners. Always keep that in mind.

Thanks, the first sentence of your post ranks among the best advice ever given here.

[DukeConnor]

Obviously this women isn't the steely eyed killer we all proclaim to be.
The upside to this story is the women protected her child and no one died. She accomplished her objective. Keep herself and her child safe. I don't know the whole story but hope it works out for her and the kid.

[ideaman]

It sounds like the victim that's being assualted, which triggers the "flight or fight" adrenalin dump with seconds to act, vs the prosecutor sitting at his safe desk safe and in a calm envirorment, get's all the time to analyze and decide how to twist the law to convict the victim.

I would like to see the defense lawyer ask the judge if he perform and example of what we think the victim experiences to explain the victim's action. The judge approves.

The defense lawyer calmly walks over to the prosecuter, THEN ABRUTLY RUSHES AT THE PROSECUTOR TAKE'S HIM DOWN TO THE FLOOR, with his hand crabbing the tie and shirt and his fist cocked back and say......tell me, what were you thinking and feeling what would happen to you or were you thinking about the law?

The defense rest your honor.

THE JUDGE: BOTH OF YOU IN MY OFFICE.

[gummy jones]

I usually just shoot the bad guys weapon out of his hand

[fallenleader]

I think her mistake was firing the pistol into the air. There are documented cases of people being killed by bullets fired as warning shots by armed citizens. A gun is not a 'noise maker'. It is a lethal weapon that fires a projectile each time the trigger is pulled.

correct. the proper place to leave a bullet is in someone who has engaged you in a manner that your life is threatened and in imminent danger of being seriously harmed.
otherwise they belong in the chamber and magazine or reloading bench.
but see what happens when your too busy not reloading? you get in sticky situations.....