On Sat, 17 Mar 2001, J. van Baardwijk wrote:
> Assume it actually is a burglar. The only time you can get away with
> shooting him (at least, in the US) is when it is obvious it is a
> burglar, the guy points a gun at you, and you shoot first. However, if
> you shoot first without knowing if the intruder is armed, chances are
> *YOU* are the one going to jail, for manslaughter or perhaps even
> murder -- especially if it turns out the intruder wasn't armed.
It depends on the state.
I wouldn't go breaking into houses in Texas. You're allowed to do a hell
of a lot more to an intruder in Texas than in many other states. And in
my county, if my husband were out of town and there were an intruder and I
killed him, I seriously don't think a jury would convict. (Convict a
woman 6 months pregnant defending herself in her home from an intruder?
I don't think so, not in Williamson County.)
But I myself would not have a loaded gun in the house. Blades, on the
other hand.... (The katana is still upstairs from when I took it into the
master bedroom in my paranoia when Dan was out of town once. I figure the
dogs will wake me before an intruder finds the katana, considering where
it is, exactly. And I'm probably safer from intrusion anyway with having
dogs in the house, inside all night.)
Julia
