What is the law? Shoot 'em or not? (living, vs.)

[Mike409]

I haven't read the whole thread, just OP's.

Don't take what I say as legal advice. You really need to take a legal firearms class. Even then, read NC state law, thoroughly. Honestly, if you have a firearm already, YOU should know the answer of your question. No offense there Anif.

But, very basically, you can't shoot someone over property, unless they are actively trying to burn your house down with family inside. The only time you are allowed to shoot someone is to protect your life or someone elses.

If someone is stealing your AC and you approach them with a shotgun, they may just run away. Can't shoot 'em. If they step it up a notch and challenge you, you've got to just play it out. A few things could happen. One thug may attack you, or both(assuming two). If they take a gun out....*BAM. If they take out a knife and step towards you........*BAM*. If one takes a knife out and your life is threatened, you can only shoot that one thug. You cannot blast both of them, when one is threatening.


What if they are, as far as you know, unarmed and they keep moving towards you? I would take a step back every time they moved forward, to a point where I'm cornered........*BAM*(the closest one), if the other runs away, let him go. If he advances towards me.....*BAM*.

Now, laws are different from state to state. What I said above is for my home state(not NC). In Texas, anything goes.


I'm going to peruse the NC law, see what I can find.

[Barkingowl]

I like the way you make the concept easy to understand, Mike.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

My CCW instructor also said to call 911 and sound very upset about teh shooting, worrying about the life of the thug, asking for quick help for him, etc. To make yourself sound contrite not vengeful.

[Megax]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

My CCW instructor also said to call 911 and sound very upset about teh shooting, worrying about the life of the thug, asking for quick help for him, etc. To make yourself sound contrite not vengeful.

Good thinking.

To further the evidence if your favor, I might suggest someone starts a similar type of thread where everyone can go - then categorically state (in advance of any attack)that you feel your life would be endangered just by having someone in your house and how scared you'd be for your own safety and of others etc etc....cover all your bases....your lawyer can then bring your posting to court

[Robhu]

Ohio passed a Castle Doctrine law that takes affect Sept 9.
I doesn't permit you to go outside to shoot someone if they are stealing your A/C unit.
It does permit you to shoot someone breaking into your home. You don't have to try to evade. There are extenuating circumstances to this. Like maybe a domestic dispute. If you have a fight with your spouse and he or she is trying to get back in the house you can't just blow them away.
House guests have the same right as the principle occupant.
It permits you to shoot someone trying to get in an occupied vehicle. Vehicle being described as any conveyance meant for the transport of people whether or not it is motorized.
It throws out any legal action that might be brought against you by the intruder or their families. (I really like that part)
You can carry a concealed, loaded, pistol on your person while in your home without a concealed carry permit.
Their are other things in this law that are advantagest to law abiding citizens who have or transport guns.
These are just some of the general points of the law and not meant to be the official language of the law.
I looked it up and these are the major points I got from it.

[flexysteve]

My 2 cents. If you shoot. Shoot to kill, not to injure or warn.

2) Even if you're outside, claim (or prove) your life was threatened. You went to confront him and he came at you with a screwdriver and you shot him.

The key piece of info in all these cases is were the entrance wounds were. If they were in the back, then thats a tough sell in court.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by Mike409

I haven't read the whole thread, just OP's.

Don't take what I say as legal advice. You really need to take a legal firearms class. Even then, read NC state law, thoroughly. Honestly, if you have a firearm already, YOU should know the answer of your question. No offense there Anif.

But, very basically, you can't shoot someone over property, unless they are actively trying to burn your house down with family inside. The only time you are allowed to shoot someone is to protect your life or someone elses.

If someone is stealing your AC and you approach them with a shotgun, they may just run away. Can't shoot 'em. If they step it up a notch and challenge you, you've got to just play it out. A few things could happen. One thug may attack you, or both(assuming two). If they take a gun out....*BAM. If they take out a knife and step towards you........*BAM*. If one takes a knife out and your life is threatened, you can only shoot that one thug. You cannot blast both of them, when one is threatening.


What if they are, as far as you know, unarmed and they keep moving towards you? I would take a step back every time they moved forward, to a point where I'm cornered........*BAM*(the closest one), if the other runs away, let him go. If he advances towards me.....*BAM*.

Now, laws are different from state to state. What I said above is for my home state(not NC). In Texas, anything goes.


I'm going to peruse the NC law, see what I can find.

Hi, Mike!!! I have taken a course but it was a long time ago. And I thought I knew the answer (one cannot shoot a person unless one is being physically threatened, as I stated in my first post) but I thought it would be interesting to have a discussion and see what others would say . . . and I figured the castle doctrine would come up . . . and I thought it would be good to review that . . .

My understanding is - unless someone is physically threatening your life or that of a family member (or someone in your home) - you will be charged w/ homicide if you kill someone on your property. You may be charged w/ whatever is the equivalent of "justifiable" homicide (don't know if that is the right term) if it is obvious that the person had a weapon and was inside your premises and you feared for your life. That means, if someone is outside carrying off ANYTHING you own . . . you gotta let 'em walk. However, there are so many shades of "threat" - I would suppose that the DA would consider all those factors - such as there being 2 thugs, and one tearing something up like an A/C and one smashing in a window to enter your home. Each situation would depend on what actions it could be proven that the criminals took and how the homeowner responded - and if deadly force was necessary.

I wanted to see what others thought about this, what they understood the law to mean . . . I have a copy of the statutes and actually, have posted links to them here on this forum . . . but some things are rather vague, including what it means to be "concealing" a weapon in a car in NC.

What it gets down to is - you cannot exchange someone's life for a few possessions, regardless of the value of those possessions. That is what I was taught. If they are jacking your car, carrying off your silver, your TV, whatever - unless someone is standing there w/ a weapon in his/her hand - you can't do squat.

I wanted to hear others discuss that.

Everything you wrote is exactly what I have been taught.

[Metallisteve]

Found a couple of items relating to NC Castle Doctrine. don't have time right this second to sort through them all and make sense of what is what, but here's the raw data:

Senate Bill 1915*-First Edition
Castle Doctrine In North Carolina Petition (online petition...probably worthless)
It's Official The Castle Doctrine is Law in NC - USA Carry Forums (USA Carry forum with links to the following)
North Carolina General Assembly - House Bill 476 Information/History (2007-2008 Session)
North Carolina General Assembly - Senate Bill 1251 Information/History (2007-2008 Session) (these two confirming "held up in committee)

[NCyank]

Ok, I was more or less joking when I suggested dropping a bowling pin on a thief but there must be something between shooting to kill and just letting them walk off with your stuff. So you can't shoot and kill them (as long as they aren't threatening your life) but can you injure and retain them until the police arrive? So someone is lurking down the hall in your house...you have to wait to see if they have a weapon before you clobber them?? Stupid.

I have to agree with other posters...I liked living in Tx. Although we never owned a firearm I liked that if we had chosen too we could have used it to defend our lives as well as our property. It is too much a burden to put on innocent citezens to determine the 'intent' of a criminal who is on your property. So he doesn't have a gun or knife...that doesn't mean he isn't a threat. Some guy breaks into my house when DH is out of town...he is bigger than me, stronger than me....that means to me HE is the deadly weapon. He could steal my property or do unspeakable things without having a weapon!!

[carolina_guy]

Originally Posted by NCyank

Ok, I was more or less joking when I suggested dropping a bowling pin on a thief but there must be something between shooting to kill and just letting them walk off with your stuff. So you can't shoot and kill them (as long as they aren't threatening your life) but can you injure and retain them until the police arrive? So aomeone is lurking down the hall in your house...you have to wait to see if they have a weapon before you clobber them?? Stupid.

I have to agree with other posters...I liked living in Tx. Although we never owned a firearm I liked that if we had chosen too we could have used it to defend our lives as well as our property. It is too much a burden to put on innocent citezens to determine the 'intent' of a criminal who is on your property. So he doesn't have a gun or knife...that doesn't mean he isn't a threat. Some guy breaks into my house when DH is out of town...he is bigger than me, stronger than me....that means to me HE is the deadly weapon. He could steal my property or do unspeakable things without having a weapon!!

Women are treated differently from men. If someone has broken into your house, as a woman you don't need to know the intentions of the intruder since you're at risk of sexual violence. But at the end of the day, man or woman, defend yourself with deadly force if necessary. You use your own judgment and worry about it later. Laws don't matter when your dead.