Do you know what your rights are, and/or if you have any?

JaniceM

JaniceM

Well-known Member
Location
still lost between two shores..
This is the figurative deep end that I'm going off of, I'm hoping to hear from others especially in the U.S.
While there are many reasons I'm not cut out for my current location, one is that it's impossible to get a straightforward answer from anyone on anything- it's either a brush-off, or individuals contradicting each other, or noncommital responses. The latter was the reply I received from an individual at a state agency, so I'm even more frustrated than I was before, plus very angry.

As an informal poll, please let me ask you this: wherever you happen to live, do you know with certainty what rights you would have, if any, to act if you were in either of these situations?:

Example #1: You're home alone late one night. An intruder gets into your home.
Example #2: You're out in a public place. No one else is in the area. A stranger comes up from behind you, jumps on you, and starts manhandling you.
Do you know what you have the right by law to do in these situations??

What I've been hearing the entire time I've been in this city: under no circumstances can you put your hands on another person to protect/defend yourself; if you do, you can be arrested, charged with assault, and taken to jail. Whether this is based on rumor or fact, it seems the entire population believes it is fact and acts accordingly- individuals are open to all kinds of criminal behaviors because of the belief that defending oneself in any way would result in getting hauled off to jail. The worst of it, though, is it's impossible to get an answer from anyone who should have the answer, it's either a noncommital shrug or they contradict each other. So I'm wondering if that's the case where you live, or do people actually know their rights?
 

Yes, and you can too. Just google the laws in your jurisdiction.

Personally, if either of those things happened to me, worrying about the law would be the last thing on my mind.
 
I would refer to the common law here. Everyone has the right of self defence.
This includes the use of force but the level of force must be commensurate to the level of threat.

Hypothetically, if someone entered my home with the intent of robbing me, I would stand to one side and let him take whatever he wanted. However, if he threatened to harm anyone in my home I would not hesitate to drive a carving knife between his ribs or to bash him over the head with our sheleighly. Then I would ring the police and ambulance. If he moved before they arrived I'd hit him again.

Then I would take my chances in a court of law.

Luckily I have never had reason to find out whether I was within my rights or not.
 

Your frustration with getting poor responses from the public agencies you've contacted is understandable. However, public employees are typicallly prohibited from giving what could be construed as 'legal advice".

That said, here's what I would do:

Example #1: You're home alone late one night. An intruder gets into your home.

I would end up shooting this intruder, then call the police. A nighttime home invasion gives the victim the maximum amount of latitude, in their response.

Example #2: You're out in a public place. No one else is in the area. A stranger comes up from behind you, jumps on you, and starts manhandling you.

I do not carry a weapon, but if I did, I would certainly use it. Without a weapon, I would repel the attacker as vigorously as I could, then report the incident to the police.

Generally, you are allowed to use "enough" force to protect yourself. I can't imagine any local laws prohibiting an individual from protecting their self.
 
Specifics of the penitent laws vary greatly depending on the state. Worst case scenario if you killed your attacker is you're arrested, processed, charged, and released pending trial, where, of course, you would assert self-defense. If you are able to demonstrate or show evidence that you were in fear of losing your own life, you'd be found not guilty of homicide.

Here's the catch; you may still face a civil suit for killing or even only injuring your assailant. Other matters will enter into this proceeding, such as how you could have avoided the situation altogether, or whether you could have escaped your assailant with no harm done. After successfully proving self-defense in criminal court, there's a pretty good chance you will win this battle as well, but not for free and not without facing assertions that you could have made another choice...that you had another choice, and made the wrong one.
 
I believe that in NYS you have an obligation to use any solution other than deadly force when you are being attacked or threatened by an intruder.

The obvious solution is to run away or remove yourself from the situation but sometimes it is difficult to know where the line is.
 
In NYS,you have to be in fear of your life and/or loved ones...
It is also preferred that shoot to kill is not your 1st option.
My late husband took a safety course when he got his concealed carry permit.
 
I actually am not sure what the law in my state says about number 1, but I think you can shoot an intruder INside your home.

As to the second scenario; many years ago, due to some trouble with an in law's crazy boyfriend, my husband brought home an application for me to carry a gun. I remember, at that time, the rules said upon his threatening approach to me, I had to give warning that I was armed and would shoot if he came nearer.

I never followed through with the application, although I did shoot hubs' pistol into the oak tree out back, once.:playful:

Good question, Janice. We should all know what our rights and responsibilities are.
 
Warrigal said:
I would refer to the common law here. Everyone has the right of self defence.
This includes the use of force but the level of force must be commensurate to the level of threat.

Hypothetically, if someone entered my home with the intent of robbing me, I would stand to one side and let him take whatever he wanted. However, if he threatened to harm anyone in my home I would not hesitate to drive a carving knife between his ribs or to bash him over the head with our sheleighly. Then I would ring the police and ambulance. If he moved before they arrived I'd hit him again.

Then I would take my chances in a court of law.

Luckily I have never had reason to find out whether I was within my rights or not.
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The intruder will probably be a lot stronger, especially if on drugs, so getting close enough to stab him is just impossible and besides most "bad" people carry guns even without permits.

Best thing to do in this new world of violence we live in now is to get a gun permit and be prepared to use it to protect yourself and your family.

Elderly people are protected by the law more so than a young person.

Texas has concealed hand gun permits an the open carry law.

I have over 20 years of Military active duty service in the Marines where I was exposed to weapons and my wife was born and raised in the country/farm where she got plenty of experience/practice with shot guns and still has one and we do go out to practice on a regular basis.

One has to fight fire with fire.
 
Cap'nSacto said:
I'm not sure what you mean. If I was in a situation where I had to chose to harm or be harmed, my obligation would be to my family; to survive in order to take care of them.
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When somebody breaks into your house, it won't be to drink the glass of milk and eat the cookies, like Santa does, that you left out for him.

He's there to rob you, chances are he needs money for his drug habit, and is willing to really hurt you to do it.

I will protect my wife, grand kids and myself.
 
Janice, In both instances I would do what I needed to do to protect myself and worry about my rights later. In my home I would not hesitate to shoot an intruder. In example #2, since I do not carry a firearm on my person, but do carry disabling spray, I would try that -- if that failed I'd do whatever else I could -- kick, scratch, bite, go for the groin, stomp the instep, etc., so I could get away. I always carry my keys in my hand, and I'd try using those, as well. I don't want a bunch of people standing around my coffin saying how great it was that I respected the assailant's rights. I'd rather be arrested and have to defend against an assault charge than be dead.

Having said that, I don't go places, especially at night, where I foresee being alone and vulnerable, and I always take stock of my surroundings and am aware of what is going on around me; and I'd NEVER be in a place like that with earphones playing music or whatever. You need to be acutely aware of your surroundings, and you can't do that if you can't hear.

In my state I have the right to defend myself with deadly force in my own home, and in my car or outside as well if I am attacked or physically threatened.

As someone said above, look up your state's laws on the subject. Google [state name] self defense laws. If you can't find them, PM me and I can help.
 
Warrigal said:
I would refer to the common law here. Everyone has the right of self defence.
This includes the use of force but the level of force must be commensurate to the level of threat.

Hypothetically, if someone entered my home with the intent of robbing me, I would stand to one side and let him take whatever he wanted. However, if he threatened to harm anyone in my home I would not hesitate to drive a carving knife between his ribs or to bash him over the head with our sheleighly. Then I would ring the police and ambulance. If he moved before they arrived I'd hit him again.

Then I would take my chances in a court of law.

Luckily I have never had reason to find out whether I was within my rights or not.
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Hmmm....I hear ya, Warri, but an intruder would overpower you. I have to agree with OldBiker.

In such a situation it would be almost impossible to stab someone and "make it count".
 
applecruncher said:
Hmmm....I hear ya, Warri, but an intruder would overpower you. I have to agree with OldBiker.

In such a situation it would be almost impossible to stab someone and "make it count".
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I don't know about that. I believe that when adrenalin kicks in even little old ladies can have super human strength.
If someone was threatening to hurt my grandchildren, for example, I could easily become a tigress.

I do have a working knowledge of the position of the vital organs - I used to dissect rats, ya know. :grin:
 
Warrigal said:
I don't know about that. I believe that when adrenalin kicks in even little old ladies can have super human strength.
If someone was threatening to hurt my grandchildren, for example, I could easily become a tigress.

I do have a working knowledge of the position of the vital organs - I used to dissect rats, ya know. :grin:
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The Incredible Hulk does it all the time.
 
OldBiker said:
The Incredible Hulk does it all the time.
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Z
 
I agree with some replies, but a person really should consult a lawyer. In Virginia, a "Castle Doctrine" was voted upon and lost in 2012 (some states have it and you can google it to see which ones). One reason for its failure is that we already had a law called the "common law defense rule" that says that under certain circumstances, a person may use deadly force against someone entering his home.

Virginia also has a "no retreat" or more commonly know as a "stand your ground" law, which means you are not required to "retreat", in other words try to escape, prior to using self defense, under certain circumstances.

But this is a simplistic answer. One would have to read pages and pages of lawyerez to become completely knowledgeable.
 
If an intruder has a gun to a person's head and makes threats, it's highly unlikely the victim will be able to get a carving knife and stab the intruder in a vital organ or anyplace else, no matter how much adrenaline/super-human strength is flowing.
 

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