When Can You Shoot Someone in Self Defense

Whether you keep a gun in your home for self defense or choose to carry concealed, every person who owns a firearm needs to be able to recite their jurisdiction's gun laws backwards and forwards.  Since gun laws vary by country/state/county/city/town, there is no "one size fits all" advice on shooting in self defense.  In some countries you can never shoot someone in self defense (or for that matter own a gun) and in other places its pretty much a free for all for gun owners.

In the US, while there are a lot of varying gun laws that impact everything from the kinds of firearms you can own to the number of bullets you can have in a magazine, the general standard is that you can only shoot someone in self defense when you are in fear for your life.  Needless to say, this can sometimes be a pretty subjective area when it comes to presenting your case to a jury.

We've had a number of shootings in our city that range from completely justified to "you'll probably end up in prison for shooting that guy" like this case that happened a couple days ago.  You generally can't shot someone who is trying to steal your car, you can't shoot shoplifters, you can't shoot someone who pisses you off, you can't shoot someone who is fleeing from you...you need to literally come to the point where you will end up dead if you don't shoot first.

Since you want to be in the right if you ever end up defending your life with a firearm and since you don't want to ever end up on trial for a self defense shooting with a heavy prison sentence hanging over your head if you lose your case, you need to know all about using a firearm for self defense.  To do this...

• Know your state gun laws and follow them.
• Seek information on local carrying from multiple sources.
• Be properly licensed if you are going to carry concealed.
• Be properly trained to use a firearm for self defense.
• Don't make any statements to the police if you do shoot in self defense, lawyer up immediately.