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LadyLightening wrote:... I don't know why I felt bad for them seeing my gun. Afterwards I realized it was a paper clip anyways as it wasn't loaded. ...

The only time my primary carry guns are ever unloaded is when I am cleaning them. When I am cleaning them, then I have another loaded handgun nearby.

Aside from cleaning, I can think of zero good reasons to ever have a primary self defense handgun unloaded.

LadyLightening wrote:Thanks for all the comments! Especially the ladies that chimed in! :) Everyone's contributed to things I hadn't even thought of.I have a quick question though. I had some young guys (very early 20s...if that) come to the door selling magazine subscriptions. I had been working in the backyard coming and going into the house every so often and the front door was unlocked. Doorbell rings and stupid me answers the door halfway with my gun in hand on the side that wasn't supposed to be visible. Once I realized I shouldn't be in "threat" mode, I told them to hold on and I closed the door and put my gun on the hallway table. One of the guys was pretty country and he asked me what kind of gun I had and if it was pink.... Pink holster!! They saw through it through the glass in the middle of the door. So I apologized a million times and decided to buy magazines that were ridiculously overpriced after I gave them an idea of why I answered with a gun. They were cool with it and laughed, asked to come into the house and finish paperwork and I let them in. Can I get in trouble for them seeing it? I know absolutely I would if I was outside my home but I was inside. I know I shouldn't of let them in either but I didn't come to my senses until after the fact.

You have no duty to keep your firearm hidden in your own home.

There are people who will debate either way an openly carried handgun on your property. People like to parse the definition of "public" and "manner calculated to alarm". Me? I have no problem with an openly carried handgun in my front yard.

As info, I simply do not answer the front door to anyone selling door to door, unless we are talking about 10 year-old girl scouts or equivalent. I most defintiely would never have answered the door to a couple of young men.

LadyLightening wrote:This is probably going to sound dumb but does his height and weight factor into this at all? He can't weigh very much more than me at 110. He's got a couple inches on me but that's it.

No. The laws on justified shooting do not depend upon his height and weight for any of the six enumerated crimes ("aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery"), forced entry into your home/vehicle/place of employment, or an attempt to remove you from any of those places. If any of those actions occur, the law will consider your use of deadly force to be "presumed reasonable".

Any attempt on his part to enter home/vehicle/place of employment is clearly justified. Given his prior comments and history, if he approaches you elsewhere and you are warning him to "STOP DO NOT COME ANY CLOSER", a continued approach or attempt to physically touch you in any way could reasonably be interpreted as an attempt at sexual assault or kidnapping.

Absent those scenarios, the remaining legal standard is that you reasonably believe the use of "deadly force" is immediately necessary to protect you from his use or attempted use of "deadly force". Note that deadly force means "capable of causing, death or serious bodily injury". Whenever an adult male is using physical force against a female, I believe most people would find it reasonable that the woman believes the man could cause death or serious bodily injury.