Protected by the Castle Law, Intruders Will Be Shot (sign)

[Voonman]

Castle Doctrine Law Works in some Cases but not all..If you and your spouse or anyone living with you have a Domestic Dispute or they chase you down with an Axe...You will have to retreat then call 911..If you use Deadly force...You will be prosecuted and sent to Jail...It only protects you from foreign intruders...About the Sign..I think its cool and could possibly work in either in favour of you or turn out to be something really bad...The good side of it is that intruders are forewarned before they decide to make that grave decision...But the negative side as i read from previous posts its not good to let the public know that you have guns in your house..just because it can lead to potential crackheads breaking in and trying to steal them and at the same time harming your family and putting you at greater risk..So you have to weigh your options

[Purplehood]

Please...clarify...exactly...what...it...is...that...you...are...saying.

Sorry. I couldn't resist.

[Trinitite]

One should always practice S. S. S. if you don't know what the three S stand for, you ought to!!!

Shoot, Shovel and Shut up!!!

[Trinitite]

Castle Doctrine Law Works in some Cases but not all.

Is that legal advice?

[Crapshoot]

Castle Doctrine Law Works in some Cases but not all..If you and your spouse or anyone living with you have a Domestic Dispute or they chase you down with an Axe...You will have to retreat then call 911..If you use Deadly force...You will be prosecuted and sent to Jail...It only protects you from foreign intruders...About the Sign..I think its cool and could possibly work in either in favour of you or turn out to be something really bad...The good side of it is that intruders are forewarned before they decide to make that grave decision...But the negative side as i read from previous posts its not good to let the public know that you have guns in your house..just because it can lead to potential crackheads breaking in and trying to steal them and at the same time harming your family and putting you at greater risk..So you have to weigh your options

Isn't that called just plain old selfdefense, no "castle law" needed .......


And isn't that what a gunsafe is for .........

[Voonman]

A gun safe is a very good thing..But common sense would tell you that you should not let anybody know you have guns in your house..its too much unwanted attention on your behalf...Also in self defense as far as the law is concerned..your best bet would be to retreat and call 911 for any domestic issues, especially violent ones..

[Crapshoot]

A gun safe is a very good thing..But common sense would tell you that you should not let anybody know you have guns in your house..its too much unwanted attention on your behalf...Also in self defense as far as the law is concerned..your best bet would be to retreat and call 911 for any domestic issues, especially violent ones..

A: "common sense" is a subjective term and cannot be broadly applied to simply infer a general idea. And as far as the law is concerned your are more likely to be held less liable or are at least viewed better upon legally if there is a clear unmitigated verbal or written/posted warning declaring that you will perceive any intrusion as a definite threat to either life or property. Its very simple case law. Why do think that military operations post warning signs against trespass. Or why retail chains post shoplifting signs. The public entities are subject to the same laws of due process as we are. They know that if something were to go to trial they would have evidence that the offender intentionally committed a crime even knowing the consequences. That’s not to say its fool proof. It does however decrease a large amount of legalistic wiggle room. And as far as drawing attention to your home, if a bad guy contemplates breaking into your home to steal a gun he almost certainly won't try anything while there is occupation, regardless of day or night time. And if you have a safe and I'm talking about a good, bolted down somewhere, would take a month to crack, decent safe then there is little to no worry of having your guns stolen. Besides anybody who has had any real honest exposure to these seedy types would know that for the most part these people aren't all that into hard work. They are lazy, rotten, selfish beings of ill repute with entitlement issues. They aren't gonna risk their butts for what you might have when they know there is an easier mark down the street. It’s like having a big Doberman guard dog sign on your gate. Or posting an alarm system sign in your yard.They don't know for sure what’s on the other side of the fence or within the walls; it’s just too risky to try something for an unknown payoff. If by some odd chance you happen to get picked by that 1 in a million guy who is willing to risk it and they bust into your home and can't get the guns because you secured them; but make off with the TV or stereo, well that’s what home owners or renters insurance is for. But the chances of that are ridiculously remote.

And B: Unless you live alone the retreat option really isn't one. If you've got a wife, a kid or 2, and don't forget about Rover; how are you supposed to "retreat" going room to room half asleep in the middle of the night with family in-tow all the while not knowing what the intruder is going to do or even possibly not knowing exactly where he's at. Unless you're one of those blessed people that have one of those "so big you could get lost" mansion type homes, the odds aren't very good. Remember we live in Texas, the greatest "do it yourself" state in the nation. It is highly unlikely that your gonna have legal issue for protecting yourself, authorized occupants, and property against an unwanted intruder of which whose intentions you can't confirm until after the fact. If an intruder has been given prior warning that there unauthorized presence on the premises is considered to be threatening then you've done your retreating. At worst and more likely you would see civil repercussions. Cops do it all the time. They issue a warning to whoever poses a potential threat and if there is persistence the officer executes the proper measures required to maintain control of the situation in that current circumstance.

To sum up, there is no real legal issue with posting such a sign. If it is taken seriously then it is feared and doing its job. And as for possible burglary, posting the sign doesn't really make you anymore of a target than the next guy if anything the opposite.

[HighVelocity]

You also have to make a not-so-valid assumption that they can read (or read English).

I disagree. I can not recall any life-on-the-line instance in which a perp could not speak English.

In my experience they can speak English, but choose not to.

Speaking it and reading it are not the same.

I voted no. No way would I post that sign.

[Venus Pax]

We have NRA stickers on our vehicles (they stay in the garage at night, however), but I would not post that particular sign. An activist Harris County prosecutor would have a field day with that one.

[Purplehood]

"common sense" is a subjective term and cannot be broadly applied to simply infer a general idea. And as far as the law is concerned your are more likely to be held less liable or are at least viewed better upon legally if there is a clear unmitigated verbal or written/posted warning declaring that you will perceive any intrusion as a definite threat to either life or property. very simple case law. Why do think that military operations post warning signs against trespass. Or why retail chains post shoplifting signs. The public entities are subject to the same laws of due process as we are. They know that if something were to go to trial they would have evidence that the offender intentionally committed a crime even knowing the consequences. That’s not to say its fool proof. It does however decrease a large amount of legalistic wiggle room. And as far as drawing attention to your home, if a bad guy contemplates breaking into your home to steal a gun he almost certainly won't try anything while there is occupation, regardless of day or night time. And if you have a safe and I'm talking about a good, bolted down somewhere, would take a month to crack, decent safe then there is little to no worry of having your guns stolen. Besides anybody who has had any real honest exposure to these seedy types would know that for the most part these people aren't all that into hard work. They are lazy, rotten, selfish beings of ill repute with entitlement issues. They aren't gonna risk their butts for what you might have when they know there is an easier mark down the street. It’s like having a big Doberman guard dog sign on your gate. Or posting an alarm system sign in your yard.They don't know for sure what’s on the other side of the fence or within the walls; it’s just too risky to try something for an unknown payoff. If by some odd chance you happen to get picked by that 1 in a million guy who is willing to risk it and they bust into your home and can't get the guns because you secured them; but make off with the TV or stereo, well that’s what home owners or renters insurance is for. But the chances of that are ridiculously remote.

And B: Unless you live alone the retreat option really isn't one. If you've got a wife, a kid or 2, and don't forget about Rover; how are you supposed to "retreat" going room to room half asleep in the middle of the night with family in-tow all the while not knowing what the intruder is going to do or even possibly not knowing exactly where he's at. Unless you're one of those blessed people that have one of those "so big you could get lost" mansion type homes, the odds aren't very good. Remember we live in Texas, the greatest "do it yourself" state in the nation. It is highly unlikely that your gonna have legal issue for protecting yourself, authorized occupants, and property against an unwanted intruder of which whose intentions you can't confirm until after the fact. If an intruder has been given prior warning that there unauthorized presence on the premises is considered to be threatening then you've done your retreating. At worst and more likely you would see civil repercussions. Cops do it all the time. They issue a warning to whoever poses a potential threat and if there is persistence the officer executes the proper measures required to maintain control of the situation in that current circumstance.

To sum up, there is no real legal issue with posting such a sign. If it is taken seriously then it is feared and doing its job. And as for possible burglary, posting the sign doesn't really make you anymore of a target than the next guy if anything the opposite.

I respectfully disagree. All indications are that the media, the tort lawyers and the anti-crowd all look at the posting as the equivalent of "intent", and fail to look at posting as a rightful deterrant. It is wrong, but it is the unhappy reality.

[chamberc]

Regarding Safes:

While far less likely in a densely populated area, let me share a story about some friends who had a safe stolen in Hallsville.

The thieves chained the safe, which was in a closet, and pulled it through two internal walls and the brick wall next to the window where they had run the chains through.

If folks want to get your safe, they can.

[CompVest]

Advertising there are guns in a house might lead to the BG's decision to target a house but it is the loss of other personal belongings that will hurt. So even if the guns are properly secured there is still the potential for significant loss.

[bdsnooks]

I wouldn't post it.
I like to stay unnoticed as much as possible.

[Kevinf2349]

An activist Harris County prosecutor would have a field day with that one.

I voted "No" to placing the sign but....wouldn't a good defence attorney simply say "There is a government health warning on cigarettes too isn't there?,they put safety labels on just about everything (including mattresses...never did understand that one!), that is all my client was doing, they were given fair warning, they ignored that warning, they paid the price!"

[srothstein]

wouldn't a good defence attorney simply say "There is a government health warning on cigarettes too isn't there?,they put safety labels on just about everything (including mattresses...never did understand that one!), that is all my client was doing,

I like that idea. How about a sign that says WARNING: The Surgeon General has determined that breaking into this house may be hazardous to your health."

Maybe I can write the surgeon general and ask for the determination for my house.