If we must get carried away with every legal aspect, then let us do so for all of them, not pick and choose.
The writers will say do not put a sign on your fence "Beware of Dog" but just put a sign up that says "Dog". The thought process behind this is the word "Beware," which may mean you knew the dog may bite. We have not found any case law about this, but it does not stop the “experts” from writing about it. There is a court case in Florida where the judge said the sign must read "Bad Dog" –I have not seen any signs that read that, have you?
This falls under “Specific Intent,” meaning there is NO intent required. A defendant may testify at trial as to his intent. Whether the defendant intended to break the law does not matter; rather, the issue is whether he intended to do that which is unlawful.
Back to the dog… if your dog bites someone, you are going to be charged. The sign on your fence could read, “My dog can make it to the fence in 2 seconds. Can you?” or it could read “Trained Attack Dog” or “Welcome”--Under the law it would not make any difference.
This same principle can be applied to statutory rape. It does not make any difference how old she said she was. If she was under age you will be charged.
Getting back to self defense, the bottom line is if you live in a state that has a good law of Castle Doctrine and includes Stand your Ground, then all of this is a mute issue.
You are immune from civil suit from the perpetrator so long as you acted within the law when defending yourself. If you did not get that, it means you are immune from prosecution and torts.
Tort; from French for "wrong," a civil wrong or wrongful act, whether intentional or accidental, from which injury occurs to another. Torts include all negligence cases as well as intentional wrongs which result in harm.
You could have used a gun, shovel, ice pick, or your bare hands.
Now if you were not justified in your shooting, i.e., if you robbed a store and shot someone, or if you kicked in someone’s front door, you would have much bigger issues than whether or not the ammo was factory or reloaded.
I have not heard of any state having a law that forbids the use of reloaded ammo for self-defense. Nor have I ever heard of a law case where this was an issue.
We should spend more time focusing on our front sight, getting our rounds on target, and understanding the use of lethal force. If we do this, then our only issue will be: did our bullet stop the threat.
DVC
Stan
