TexasCHLforum.com

quantum wrote:

G192627 wrote:No question it would have been legal. There isn't any way in the world she could have not proven it was to protect the lives of those in the room. The bad guy doesn't have to pull the trigger first. He has to threaten your life first, and by 'waving his gun around' and dismissing everyone but a few, it's unquestionable what his intentions could be...

That was also my initial gut reaction to the situation. Glad someone else agrees (lawyer or not).

quantum wrote:Regarding the lady who tried to disrupt the shooter with her purse. I've read a lot of comments on other gun boards (and a few here) that it would have been better had she had a gun and used it. While I don't disagree with that sentiment, I'm curious from a legal perspective (assuming this had happened in TX) if she would have been justified in shooting the man at that point? He was waving a gun around and I can't recall if he had threatened to shoot anyone yet. Even if he had verbally threatened, is that enough? Would her justification have been preventing attempted murder?

Obviously, once he fired a shot, it's game time and you do what the security guard did. But at any point earlier, would a preemptive use of deadly force by a CHL holder put him/her in legal jeopardy for this situation?

I went back and reread the TX CHL laws and haven't been able to fully convince myself that it would be defensible. Am I missing something?

Kahrry wrote:This is hits close to home for me. I recently posted about our company policy forbidding concealed carry or carry of any sort of weapon at all. We have open board meetings like this twice a month with an open forum for any resident to sign in and speak before the board. There have been controversial topics and upset residents address the board. None of them have turned deadly but this proves that desperate people given and opportunity with little security can attempt violent crimes like this.

jimlongley wrote:I think that even a mouse gun in the purse lady's hands would have led to the gunman dying six minutes earlier.

jimlongley wrote:I think that even a mouse gun in the purse lady's hands would have led to the gunman dying six minutes earlier.

Excaliber wrote:
This case is another reminder of why I won't let myself buy one of those cute, light, easy to carry .380's. If I had one, I'd get lazy and carry it instead of one of those other big heavy guns. If I carried it and had to use it, barring an extraordinarily lucky shot, the wounds it could inflict would be unlikely to slow down someone who was trying to kill me until well after it wouldn't matter to me anymore.

Without that temptation, I just dress around my .45's, and don't harbor any illusions about those bullets carrying any magic either.