Posted: 2/19/2005 4:29:35 PM EDT
|
I was talking to a woman at work (very intelligent and honest) and we got on the subjest of trigger jobs, as she and her husband shoot pistols competitively. She is taking the comp trigger out of her CCW pistol because the guy teaching her CCW class said it showa intent if she had to shot someone. Of course, I called BS, and she said it was in the literature. I believe the guy taught it (at JIms Firearms in Baton Rouge) but I asked her to show me the literature. So take those Tririum sights off, for sure don't go to the range. You need to look like you're just lucky to get a shot off. 
|
LOL |
yeah, the instructor said the same thing in mine- said my 1911 grips could show intent if it ever came down to it in court- i suppose i can see some antigun prosecuting attorney trying to make an example, but i would hope that it would have little bearing on the outcome of the case
|
|
The way I've heard the argument made is this: you will be questioned whether the gun went off accidentally. Sometimes, the shooter will agree to this (being naive and/or stupidly innocent or grasping at straws). If the gun went off accidentally, then you were not in fear for your life. If you were not in fear for your life, then the shooting was not justified. All of a sudden, by your own addmission, rather than being the victim of a crime you become the perpetrator of the crime. This can come into play in two different court cases derived from the shooting - the criminal case and the subsequent civil case. |
|
Well if they are saying custom jobs on a gun shows intent then owning a gun should be intent. TOTAL BS!!! Owning anything to protect your life is an investment in saving your life if worst comes to worst. The world isn't the happy safe crap hole liberals want to believe. Criminals only care about themselves and only themselves. You are just in the way of that task and they will mow you down. Anything that can increase your chances for survival is a wise investment |
| Well I guess I have a whole lot of "intent" then. I think of it as customized hardware with enhanced abilities. Hell, even my shotgun has an extended tube, surefire light, sidesaddle and ghost ring sights. To me it is no different than putting running boards, tonneau cover and a bug shield on my truck. |
|
If one believes the Ayoob Files, these sort of court-room tactics occur on a regular basis. Modified weapons are SAID to indicate evil intent, by lawyers who will do anything to collect thier fees. I was warned against carrying a "limited class" 1911 by the guy giving the course I took. Everything we shooters see as modifications for reliability, accuracy, and personalizing a weapon, these legal beagles will try to use against us. Ammo of course falls into this at some point as well. Some might also argue hollow-point style ammos are for maximum "maiming" as opposed to prevention of shoot-through/collateral wounding. DaddyDett |
|
I researched this point nationwide when my law firm went to unlimited westlaw. There are lines of cases from several states (lawsuit and criminal) which say if you have a "hair trigger" and you point a gun at someone it is not an accident when it goes off. Some of the cases discuss the difference between a light and hair trigger, but I couldn't find any good rules. The hair trigger only becomes a problem if you shoot someone and then claim the gun 'went off'. |
|
I modified my weapon to: 1. Make it more accurate 2. Make it easier to use In case I ever had to use it in defense of my life. I did this because if I was ever forced to use lethal means to defend my life as I had to do in this case, I wanted to make sure I could hit the threat rather than hit innocent bystanders with wild shots caused by a weapon that did not fit me. At the moment I pulled the trigger, I was in fear for my life, and I resorted to lethal means to stop the other guy from killing me. Bottom line: If the bad guy was a legitimate threat, it doesn't matter whether you shoot him with a BB gun or a bazooka, or how many add ons you have to the weapon. The bottom line is whether or not at the moment you fired were you reasonably in fear for your life? Intent is a load of bull. Are the various police departments across the country using Glocks with 5 pound hair triggers showing intent? Are the police snipers who have highly customized rifles showing intent? Or do they posess weapons designed to give them every chance to prevail in a lethal encounter should it become necessary to resort to lethal means? It is pure horse poop. Having a gun that works and that you can fire accurately is not a manifestation of intent to kill somebody. Whipping the damn thing out and using it or threatening with it is intent. Some people should have been thrown out of lawschool. Intent was when the bad guy threatened my life, and I intended to go home alive. |
Amen. And the idiot lawyers out there who would tell you to claim a legitimate self defense shooting as an "accident" ought to be shot themselves. Self defense is permitted in every state, though a few require you to have no avenue of retreat like NY and NJ. |