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Defense principle explained
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Defense principle explained
May 05, 2002
When is it legal to shoot someone in self-defense?
John Douglass, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said the basic principle of self-defense developed through common law. In some states, the law was placed into statutes, and in others, it has been developed through court cases.
"You can defend yourself when you have an actual and reasonable belief it is necessary to use force to defend yourself," Douglass said. A person can use deadly force when it is necessary to protect against an actual threat of death or serious * injury.
It is not enough to simply believe it is legal to shoot someone. "If that's true, everyone is a law unto himself," he said.
Douglass also said there is some validity to the old notion that if you shoot a burglar, you should wait until he is inside your house. He said it is generally legal to shoot to protect against imminent harm to people, but not necessarily to property. If a person is outside, it is harder to prove imminent danger to a person.
Virginia has one of the most permissive concealed weapons laws in the country. Under state law, it is legal for anyone 21 or older, who isn't a felon or mentally ill, to have a concealed weapon permit.
For the text of the law, go to http://leg1.state.va. us/cgi-bin/legp504. exe?000+cod+18.2-308.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/bearingarms/MGBM0X96U0D.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
May 05, 2002
When is it legal to shoot someone in self-defense?
John Douglass, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said the basic principle of self-defense developed through common law. In some states, the law was placed into statutes, and in others, it has been developed through court cases.
"You can defend yourself when you have an actual and reasonable belief it is necessary to use force to defend yourself," Douglass said. A person can use deadly force when it is necessary to protect against an actual threat of death or serious * injury.
It is not enough to simply believe it is legal to shoot someone. "If that's true, everyone is a law unto himself," he said.
Douglass also said there is some validity to the old notion that if you shoot a burglar, you should wait until he is inside your house. He said it is generally legal to shoot to protect against imminent harm to people, but not necessarily to property. If a person is outside, it is harder to prove imminent danger to a person.
Virginia has one of the most permissive concealed weapons laws in the country. Under state law, it is legal for anyone 21 or older, who isn't a felon or mentally ill, to have a concealed weapon permit.
For the text of the law, go to http://leg1.state.va. us/cgi-bin/legp504. exe?000+cod+18.2-308.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/bearingarms/MGBM0X96U0D.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878