Defending someone else while carrying

[natimage]

Theoretically, if you see someone who a reasonable person would believe is being threatened to the point of death or grave bodily injury I understand you have the right to defend them. But doesn't that go against the law saying you have a legal obligation to retreat? Or does that go out the window if the victim is being held against their will and doesn't have the option to retreat? (Presumably in non stand your ground states)

I tried to word this as specifically as possible to make the other questions not take over the thread.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Inspector71]

I carry to defend me and those close to me. A reasonable person had better know who is the victim and who is the BG, and all the facts surrounding the event before jumping into action and shooting someone. It could come back to bite you in the arse in a big way and ruin your life. To each his own, but I'll call 911, try to be a good witness, and let the LEO's do their job.

[bbqgrill]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this answer from the Inspector but:

If the person being attacked could justify deadly force then, you can act on their behalf and use deadly force.

[Knightrider]

Depends on your state law. I have the right to protect others while also standing my ground. Other states may have their law worded different.

[Guantes]

Generally speaking, if they could use deadly force to defend themself, then you could use deadly force to defend them. Whether its a good idea is another thing.

[Goliath]

"All that is needed for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." I always liked this quote.

[BadgerJ]

If a perp is attacking you or your love ones, sure. Coming up on a situation with two strangers, one of whom appears to be an attacker, could be an undercover LEO or something. You don't know the situation. So no on defending strangers, be a good witness call 911. Yes to defending loved ones, actually shooting 'sooner' than defending yourself. You can back away. A loved one might not be able to.

$.02

[oneshot]

I tried getting wis. law definitions from the SP, but to no avail.

Here is what I found for Wis.

Wisconsin self defense laws - Milwaukee Wisconsin Gun Rights | Examiner.com

Good luck with your reading. Michigan law is pretty cut and dry, thank God.

[BigRay]

Wow, my brother-in-law (with a shiny new carry permit) and I were just talking about this coming home from the range today. If I'm not mistaken, Iowa only allows you to use deadly force to protect yourself, and not to protect others unless deadly force has already been used. In other words, if you see someone being beaten up (even one of your family members), non-violent intervention is your only option. But if the aggressor pulls a gun and shoots the other person, then you are justified in using deadly force because its obvious the aggressor has the intent and means to do harm. Put another way, the threat of serious bodily injury must be against you before you can legally draw your weapon. At least, that's what I was taught.

[Guantes]

While there are no guarantees, you stand a much better chance of make a correct choice if you see an incident from the beginning, rather than come up on it in the middle.

[mprp]

Generally, if you are capable of defending someone who can't and they are in danger of GBI or death, it is looked at as through the victim's eyes, therfore ruling out the need to retreat. Your laws may vary.

BUT!!


As a default, I am defending me and mine and that's it. Other than that, I will try and retreat as best that I can with "mine" being with me. Call 911 ASAP and be a good witness. There are too many variables to say that I would always do this but that is my default. And there are about a million, "But, what if..." situations out there but I figure that if I stick to my default, chances are I won't have to worry about whether or not I get in trouble for defending. There will be no doubt in my mind. Too many "If's" in there for me to blanket a personal rule otherwise.

[Dennis1209]

I carry to defend me and those close to me. A reasonable person had better know who is the victim and who is the BG, and all the facts surrounding the event before jumping into action and shooting someone. It could come back to bite you in the arse in a big way and ruin your life. To each his own, but I'll call 911, try to be a good witness, and let the LEO's do their job.

+1+

[Gene83]

To stand by, being a good witness..doing nothing, when I could have prevented an innocent person from being harmed would be difficult, if not impossible, for me to live with. Whatever happens, when it happens, will happen quickly. Thinking about it won't be an option. You will automatically do whatever it is that you end up doing. I can't see myself pulling up short and saying "Now wait a minute. You need to sit down and think this thing through."

[Guantes]

I won't stand by and watch some defenseless person be killed. Ain't gonna happen.

[claude clay]

I won't stand by and watch some defenseless person be killed. Ain't gonna happen.

I'm with ua on this with a --but they could have had a CCW. they chose not to and now for me to intervene will result in much legal stuff being all over me for years following the act of goodness. the system should not be allowed to punish a good deed. until it changes I'm gonna say that I'll be a good citizen with a cell phone--and i probably could not allow a murder to be committed if i could stop it.