the way I look at it, rightly or wrongly.exbellicus wrote:I understand that showing your weapon as a means of force, not deadly force, can be warranted to deter a bad situation. Is there a PC reference available so I can better understand when stating I have a gun or lifting up my shirt to deter an assailant is acceptable?
If I am in an argument with you, whether verbal or physical, and you pull up your shirt as to say "I will shoot you if you continue!" (which come on, is REALLY what you would be saying by doing that), I would take that as a threat of deadly force.
Have you drawn your weapon? No, but you have proven it is there and is easily accessible, and you can draw at any second, and knowing that, I need to either run or if I feel that I cannot (family nearby that I need to protect, no where to run, etc), I could easily draw my weapon and while I may not shoot automatically, my drawing, after your instigation, may cause you to draw and there we go, I am shooting you before you shot me.
So in the end, what YOU did was escalate the situation from an argument of sorts, to deadly force being used.
Again, I am not saying I am right for drawing, but I am not, after you have already threatened me, giving you the chance to draw and me just let you shoot me.
I will protect myself and my family.